Queen of Flames
by awsmpup
Summary: Rei Kayaba has always been a gamer, thanks to her beloved uncle. So, when her uncle gives her a new game he created for her birthday, she was pretty excited. Too bad she soon found out that her uncle trapped all the players inside and had turned it into a death game. Now, going by the username Mars, she has to try and survive with her new friends. Sorry if summary's bad. Kirito/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Me: ….. *glances at list of unfinished stories, before looking back at readers with sheepish grin* I….have no excuse….Blame my friend for getting me hooked! But, this entire story has been written already, so I figured, might as well share it with the world. Warning, this is a Kirito/OC story as there aren't enough in the world. Don't like, don't read. Simple as that. Disclaimer is on my profile (makes it easier than constantly writing one), a picture of my OC is on DeviantArt, and I'll be updating every other day. So….Hope you guys like it!**

This is just horrible. How come bad things always happen to me?! I'm just so unlucky! Seriously, my parents even had doctors look over me to see what was wrong. The only thing they came up with was that I ticked off the gods in a past life….Stupid past life Rei….

So, apparently, my uncle is a psychopath who decided to trap people into a game he invented, one of those unlucky people being HIS OWN FREAKIN' NIECE! Ugh, it's like Hotaru's father from Sailor Moon! And everything started out just great too! I should've known something awful was going to occur. As usual!

 _~Flashback~_

"Ne? You're just going to give it to me? Just like that?" I questioned my uncle, who had decided to visit.

"Of course! It is your birthday after all, and you're family! I insist that you accept my gift" He stated proudly. I blinked before sighing.

"I suppose there's no changing your mind. Oh well. At least I like these kinda games. Thanks Uncle Aki!"

"Are you sure it's safe Akihiko?" My father asked his brother. But my uncle just waved him off.

"Of course. And all the beta-testers absolutely loved the graphics. I'm sure little miss gamer here won't be able to stop playing!"

 _~End of Flashback~_

At the time I didn't understand the little devious glint in his eyes, but now I do.

Later that day, I decided to try out my uncle's game, and, whaddya know, it was pretty cool! Then again, my uncle is a genius, so I shouldn't have doubted his abilities. My father is just a brilliant, but decided to go into the scientific aspect of life instead of the gaming world. He's a world famous researcher and my mom is a well-known surgeon. Anyway, the point is, Sword Art Online was absolutely amazing.

Until my uncle teleported everyone together and revealed that we were all stuck inside until you clear the game at Floor 100 of the tower. And the fact that if we die here, we die in the real world. And if someone tried to remove the NerveGear from our bodies we'll die….All in all, my best birthday is turning out to be my worst. I don't wanna die at the small age of 14!

At least the media warned everyone, so hopefully nobody else will die from frantically worried family members trying to pull the stupid helmet off. I wonder how my own parents are taking this. My father is probably hunting down my uncle, ready to murder him, and my mother is probably trying to find a way to log everyone out of the stupid game. And once my father starts thinking rationally, he'll be helping her.

Oh wait, there they are. Uncle was showing various media videos. My mother was crying, while my father….he grabbed the camera and started shouting profanities at my uncle, swearing to track him down and strangle him with his own intestines….My dad can be very gory and dark….So _that's_ where I get it from!

According to my uncle, if I can even call him that any longer, he already made plans for everyone to be transported to hospitals and given the best treatment so we can 'focus on the game'. I'm sure that my mother will have me taken to the hospital she works at so she can watch over me and research more with my father. And our maid, Yuki, is most likely taking care of my sweet puppy, Suichi. Don't worry sweetie, mommy's coming! I hope….

I glare at the large cloaked figure my uncle had taken as he continued to explain things, "I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this." Reluctantly, I open my window and check my storage, to see a new item, Mirror. I pressed make into object, allowing me to examine the so called 'gift'. I curiously look at the mirror, only to see my avatar. I don't get why this is important.

However, with a flash of light, my avatar is replaced with what I look in real life. The long wavy flamed hair I had given my avatar, was replaced with my mid-back ice blue hair, including my heart buns and curled pigtails….I like Sailor Moon, so what?! I look around at the other players, and notice that the female population decreased greatly….

I grit my teeth and glare up at my uncle, until he disappears back into the game. I know he doesn't do well with people, but this is ridiculous! What is he? A sociopath?! I'm starting to think so! I can't believe nobody in our family realized what he was planning. Then again, he rarely ever visits, and when he does, it's usually for my birthdays and Christmas. I asked him about it once, and he said I was his favorite family member. That I 'understood' him, which is why he placed me in his will, stating I'll be the heir to his gaming company if anything happened to him….I still didn't understand, but I just went along with it because he was family and I loved him, despite rarely seeing him. But this…I don't think I'll ever forgive him. Not that anyone would blame me.

So, yeah. All in all, worst birthday ever!


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: Hiya! First off, thank you everyone who has favorited/followed this story so far! Now, this chapter, and the others, are gonna be longer than the first, which I suppose is more of a prologue than an actual chapter. Oh well. Please review! Enjoy!**

A month. That's how long we've been stuck in this stupid game! 2000 players have died, and no one has even passed the first floor yet! And a lot of people have been losing hope too...

Right after my uncle talked to everyone and then disappeared, I immediately set off to get stronger and to search for the first boss room. Currently, I'm at level 16. It was hard since a lot of other people had the same idea and so the hunting grounds were all covered with players, but I managed. I play these kind of games all the time, since my uncle would give me them as presents on my birthday and for christmas. Basically, I know how these games work.

Today, we're having a meeting to figure out how to beat the first floor. I enter the meeting place, which was basically an outdoor stage, where a man with blue hair was in front. I fix my cloak (I found it's best to hid your gender if you're a girl as a lot of guys I've met are sexist pigs who think girls can't play these kind of games) before sitting beside another player in a hood, and listen intently to the man below. "Alright! Now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started! For starters, I'd like to thank everyone for coming. My name is Diabel, and in this game, the job I rolled is a knight!" I crack a smile, at least some people have been trying to make this awful time into something fun. I should think up a job! Ooh! And a special codename! That'd be awesome! Though, the other players just laugh.

"You guys wanna hear this or not?" Diabel called out above the laughter. However, he then gains a serious expression, "Anyway, here's the deal. Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower today." Really? That's great! "First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to floor 2! The next step is we have to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game! Fact is, it's our duty as the most capable players here! Do you agree or not?" Soon everyone started cheering and applauding. I clap along in agreement. After all, no many people are fighting because they believe it impossible. They even started new lives here.

"OK! Glad to see you're all with me on this! Now we just need to figure out how to defeat the boss. First off, we'll team up into parties of six. A typical party doesn't stand a chance against a floor boss. We need a raid group made up of multiple parties." I blink and glance at the player below. Looks like everyone else already formed their groups…. I look at the player beside me curiously.

"Don't know anybody either?" The player just nods. "Wanna form a party then?" Another nod. "Do you talk at all?" And….another nod. "Could've fooled me…." The player lets out a small chuckle. And then a lone guy, who I have to admit is pretty cute, quickly scooted over to us.

"You guys got left out too?" 

"Not even" The hooded girl, whose voice gave away her gender, "It's just that everyone already seems to be friends."

I huff and cross my arms, "Oh sure. You talk to him but when I ask you questions I just get nods!" That just makes them laugh. "Hey, why don't we form a party together?" 

"Ok. He did say we can't beat the boss on our own, so it's for the best" The guy says.

"You can lead, if you want" I suggest. I'm not go at leading as I am taking orders. I mean, I can fight solo, but if I'm in a party, I start to feel pressurized, which leads to problems. I ended accidentally killing my party in one game, thankfully it was my friends, who just glared while I gave a sheepish smile before they declared I was forbidden from ever leading a party again…I blame my bad luck.

The guy nods and opens his window, sending out party invitations to us. I accept, along with the girl, and look at my HP meter, to see their names right under mine. Huh. Kirito and Asuna. Nice names.

"Alright. Looks like everyone's teamed up. Now then-" However, Diabel was cut off by some guy with orange hair.

"Hold up a sec!" He jumps down onto the stage beside Diabel, who was surprised by the interruption. "My names Kibaou, got that? Before we take on the boss, I wanna get something off my chest. We all know about the 2000 people who died so far, yeah? Well, some of you need to apologize to them right now!" Barely know the guy and I already hate him. Why the heck would he even suggest that other players need to apologize to the unlucky ones who passed on?! It's nobody's fault except for my stupid uncle! Wait...Maybe I should apologize….

"Kibaou...Are you referring to the ex-beta testers?" Diabel questions.

"Of course I mean them!" Kibaou retorts, "The day this stupid game started the beta guys just up and vanished! They ditched all us beginners! They snagged all the good hunting spots and they grabbed all the easy quests too! They were the only ones getting stronger in here. This whole time they've ignored us like we're nothing!" Then he starts glaring out at the crowd, "Heck I bet there's some right here! Come out you beta testers! We should make them apologize to us, and we should make them give out their money and the items they got! They can't expect the party to trust them when they don't trust us! Why should we?!"

I had enough of this guy and quickly stood up, ready to defend the beta testers. Most of them have been helping as many people as they can! They even created the guide book which were handed out to everyone for free! Everything they know, we have right by our sides! "That's not fair!" Of course, everyone turns to stare at me, but I only care about glaring at the orange haired jerk. "A lot of my friends are beta testers and all they've done was help people they came into contact with! It's not their fault that you're too lazy to do anything for yourself! Instead of pointing fingers, why don't you try to help people like they have! Besides, if that was true, how come nobody's cleared the first floor yet? The game was more than likely changed after they tested the game. Especially if Kayaba's reasons for keeping us trapped here is anything to go with. If he wanted us to be stuck here, he would've made sure that nobody, not even the beta testers, would be able to easily clear the game. And even so, the people who died weren't just by monster battles, but by suicide and forced log outs from family members. Besides, we shouldn't be accusing people like this. The moment we do that, everyone will be against one another. I don't care if someone's a beta or not. We all have the same goal, to get out of this Hell-hole, and pointing fingers isn't going to help us get any closer to that!"

Kibaou looked like he was going to retort, but then a large african american guy stood up and headed towards the stage. Which seemed to have intimidated the jerk below, since the guy was really big and buff.

"She's right. My names Agil," He introduced, before taking out the guide book, "These have been handed out to every player for free. It's a guide book. You got one didn't you?"

"Of course! So what?!"

"The people who were handing these out were the ex-beta testers," I heard the other players whisper to one another, but decide to focus on Agil. I gotta friend this guy! He's awesome! "Everyone had equal access to this information! Even so, lots of players still died. I didn't come here to point fingers, I came here because I want to learn from those deaths. I'm here because I wanna learn how to defeat the boss." Yep. Definitely friending that guy. Anyway, he and Kibaou had a stare down, in which Agil won (of course), so Kibaou just sat and sulked. Team SITCAS! Anyone? Anyone at all? Fine….

"Ok, can we get back to the meeting now?" Diabel called out, receiving mumbles of agreement, "For info about the boss, it's right here in the the guide book you just heard about. According to the book, the boss' name is Illfang the Kobold Lord, also, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Illfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved-sword type weapon called a Talwar. He can change his patterns of attack too."

Just to make sure they understood what I meant earlier, I had to call out my own piece, "But don't forget, Kayaba may have changed the game, so keep an eye out for something different in his attacks."

Thankfully, Diabel nodded in agreement. Hopefully everyone listens to my own piece of advice. I know my uncle, after all. He's always full of surprises. "As for the distribution of loot, we will divide money equally. The party that defeats the boss gets the EXP. And whoever receives an item, gets to keep it. Any objections?" Nobody called out anything, so Diabel continued, "Good. We leave tomorrow at 10 in the morning. Meeting adjourned people!"

Everyone breaks out, talking with one another, while Asuna just gets up and walks off. I wonder where she's going….Oh well. I look over at Kirito, who was just looking at Asuna's retreating figure. Deciding to get to know my new party member, I hold out my hand, "Nice to meet you, Kirito."

He blinks, before shaking my hand, "You too, Mars."

"So, you're one of those beta testers, right?" I asked hushly. Unlike myself, I doubt the other players will take it in stride. I wasn't joking when I said my friends were beta testers. I couldn't join them because me and my parents went on a cruise, but my friends said they loved the game, and demanded I join their guild on the day of releasing. I still haven't found them yet, and I just hope they aren't dead. Shouldn't be too hard though. We all agreed to use Sailor Moon references for our usernames. I'm obviously Mars, as she's ironically my favorite character. Kirito paused and looked a bit worried, but I just wave him off. "It's fine. I wasn't just saying I don't care either way just to get on that guy's nerves. It was part of the reason, but it was honestly the truth."

Kirito sighed and nodded his head, "Don't tell anyone, ok?"

"Oh, that's fine. Diabel was a beta tester too, so don't worry about it."

"He was a beta tester?" 

"Yeah. My friends met him and befriended him during the test. Speaking of which, you didn't happen to run into anyone named Jupiter, Venus, Artemis, or Helios, right?"

"Uh, no. Sorry."

I sighed, "What a shame. Hey, wanna go look for Asuna? She just wandered off, and if we're going to be a party, I think we should get to know one another first." Kirito agreed and soon, the two of us were wandering the Town of Beginnings looking for our party member. It got dark out pretty quickly, and I noticed Diabel and Kibaou were actually acting like friends. At least Diabel will be a good role model for Kibaou. Maybe he'll learn something.

Thankfully, however, we found Asuna in an alley eating a piece of bread. Ugh. How can she stand eating that? It's tastes awful and is as hard as a rock! Though, Kirito, for some odd reason, seems to like it if his next question is anything to go by, "Pretty tasty, isn't it?"

"You actually like that?" I sneer at the beastly food. Kirito just chuckles.

"It's not that bad. I eat one once a day since I've entered this town," We sit next to Asuna and Kirito hands me a piece of bread, before taking out a jar, "But I change it up a bit. Go on, try it." After a small pause, Asuna taps her finger onto the jar, and I follow. 

"Cream?" She questions. Kirito nods as I hesitantly place it onto the bread. I hope it tastes good, because then I'd feel bad for wasting his food. I take a bite, and find that it's actually better now. It's like a creampuff now.

"It's a reward from a quest called 'The Heifer Strikes Back' in the town before this one."

"Oh yeah" I mutter, "I didn't bother checking what the reward was…." I did the quest, but then I got distracted and then forgot about it.

"If you want to do it, I'll show you the trick" Kirito offered Asuna, but she shook her head.

"I didn't come to this town to eat good food."

"Then why are you here?" Kirito asked, glancing at the both of us.

Asuna was quiet for a moment, before answering, "So I don't lose sight of who I am. I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away. I'd rather stay the way I am till the last moment. Even if a monster beats me and I die. I won't lose. To this game or this world. No matter what."

Kirito slowly nodded before turning to me. I blink in slight surprise. Didn't know he was asking me as well. "Oh. Well, I wanna be involved in the defeat of this entire thing really. I guess, I feel like I owe it to everyone."

Asuna turned her head towards me as Kirito tilted his head in confusion, "Why would you feel like that?"

I sighed. Might as well get it off my chest, "Promise you guys won't, ya know, freak out or tell anyone, k?" After a moment, both of them nod, "Akihiko Kayaba, he's my uncle. He created the game for the both of us."

"What?!" Kirito exclaimed. Asuna was still quiet, but I assume she's a naturally quiet person. Probably. Or she's shy around new people.

I nod, "Unfortunately. I mean, don't get me wrong, I had no idea he was planning this whole death game trap, neither did my parents, but, well, it's kinda been both of our dreams to see a floating castle in the sky. I blame the movie by Miyazaki. But yeah. He was working out the idea when I told him I encouraged his own dream and wanted to see the same. After that, well, he delved into his work, until here we are. What sucks even more is that it was released on my birthday. Happy birthday to me, right?"

"Really?" Asuna muttered.

I groaned, "I'm a naturally unlucky person! And it's usually my birthdays too! The doctors said I screwed someone over in a past life, making the gods hate me…You don't think they'd be cruel enough to kill me off in this game do you?" I ask them frantically. I think I'm letting the reincarnation thing get to my head…

Both of them sweatdrop, before Kirito tries to comfort me, "Uh, probably not, but I don't want a party member dying on me, so at least try not to tomorrow."

"Whatever you say boss man!"

 _~Skippy!~_

We were walking through the forest with the rest of the group, ready to fight the floor boss. Kirito was already taking charge as our leader and was planning everything out. I think he's just a natural born leader. "Let's go over it again. We're the backup, so our targets are the boss' minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. I'll use my sword skill to knock their weapons away. When I do, Asuna will switch and jump in. And then Mars will switch in for the finishing blow."

"What's a switch?" Asuna asked. Me and Kirito looked at her in surprise as we kept walking.

"Is this the first time you've ever been in a party?" I ask curiously.

"Yeah." To which me and Kirito stop walking and just stare at her in shock. Before Kirito lets out an exasperated groan while Asuna looked at us, not understanding what was wrong.

 _~Skippy!~_

Soon, we reached the door where the floor boss was held in. Diabel, being the one in charge, stood in front of the door and looked at all of us, "Listen up everyone. I've only got one thing to say to you, let's win!"

Everyone was in tense silence as Diabel slowly opened the door. I gripped my own sword, which honestly, isn't a good as I would like it to be, and we all walked into the dark room. But, as soon as we all were inside, the room instantly brightened and Illfang leaped over, letting out a loud roar before three sentinels appears in front of it.

Diabel lifted up his sword and shouted out, "Commence attack!" Immediately we all began to rush forward, my party hanging back for the sentinels. Diabel was giving out orders while me, Kirito, and Asuna all fought the minions. Everything seemed to be going pretty well. Kirito would knock away the weapons, Asuna would weaken the creatures, and I would kill them off. Doubt I'd be able to do any of this in real life, but hey, it's not 'real' life. It's not our bodies doing the work, it's out conscious'. It works.

Illfang lets out another roar, making me look over to see him down to his last bar, which was red. Diabel then ran forward exclaiming he'd handle it. Not the smartest move, but he's a beta-tester, so I figured he had it covered. Until Illfang pulled out a No-Daichi instead of a Telwar. Not good…

I immediately rushed towards the two while barely hearing Kirito shout out a warning, obviously noticing the same thing, while Illfang leaped around as a blur. Thankfully, I had made it just in time to block the blow, though it did knock both me and Diabel back when I was pushed away. We landed further away from the group, but thankfully we hadn't sustained enough injury to die.

Another roar shook the ground and I quickly turned from my place on the ground to black another attack, only to see that my sword had been shattered. Wonderful…

I was unable to hold back a gasp as Illfang shot towards us, and I quickly closed my eyes in fear, only to feel arms wrap around me and pull me away. My eyes open quickly to see Diabel covering me with his own body, before the boss struck him multiple times. We were finally knocked back once more and Illfang landed in the middle of the group. I groaned in slight pain before taking notice of Diabel's depleting health. I immediately started rummaging through my bag as Kirito knelt beside us.

"You idiot. What the heck were you thinking?" he muttered, trying to give Diabel a potion. But Diabel held up a hand and stopped him.

"You were a beta-tester too?" The blue haired warrior asked. Kirito paused with a small frown.

"You were after the last attack bonus. The rare item. You were a beta-tester just like me…"

A small smile then graced Diabel's face, as he started to fade a bit, "You have to...defeat the boss. For everyone." His eyes moved towards me while I cried, I am unashamed to say. You would be too! "Take my sword, ok? Help them win in my place…" After he said that, the sword appeared in my inventory. Don't know how he did that, but if this is what he wants, I'll honor his wish. His body then shatters, and I sniff, wiping some tears away. Can't fight while blinded.

Me and Kirito stand up, and Asuna appears beside us as I equip Diabel's old sword, which he gave to me for some reason. I suppose it's because my own was destroyed and he wanted me to fight, just as everyone else.

"Let's handle this just like the minions" Kirito orders, and I nod in agreement. The three of us run towards Illfang, who had noticed and was preparing to attack. Kirito slammed his sword against the No-Daichi, before Asuna rushed in and sliced Illfang's gut. Taking my own turn, I follow after her and stab towards Illfang. He swung back at me, but I quickly moved away. Unfortunately, my cloak was caught in between and it's durability vanished. Dangit, I liked that cloak! Oh well. Better the cloak then myself. Asuna swaps back in, and gains Illfang's attention, only for Kirito to intervene and fight the boss. I hang back with Asuna, waiting for our own time to come in. But Kirito was thrown back into us, having taken a hit from Illfang.

I notice his health fall down, but it stopped just before it could turn yellow. However, Illfang still raced towards us, his sword glowing brightly. Thankfully though, he was blocked by none other than Agil! Love that guy! Agil looked back towards us with a grin while other players ran forward. "We'll hold him off while you recover."

"You got it!" Kirito grinned. I offered him a potion, which he accepted, but only after a threatening glare. Apparently he wanted to use his own, but too bad I say! Once his health was back up, he immediately ran ahead towards Illfang. "Watch out!" Kirito sliced at Illfang, pushing him away from the group he was ready to attack. Wanting to honor Diabel's wish, I rush towards Illfang, my own sword at the ready, with Asuna right behind me.

Asuna stabs Illfang, distracting him, while I knock his No-Daichi out of his hand. And right after, Kirito makes his move and slices Illfang, destroying the boss finally. After a pause, the room erupted with cheers, me and Asuna even hugged each other happily in our own celebratory moment. The room darkened as every gained EXP and grew in stats. Since me, Kirito, and Asuna helped with the final attack, we got more EXP, which put me at level 17. Yay!

I skip over to Kirito, who was kneeling on the group taking deep breaths. "Great job, Kirito!"

"That was some fine swordsmanship" Agil complimented, walking over, "Congratulations. Today's victory is all thanks to you."

"No" Kirito tried to deny, obviously the humble type, but the other players just applaud and cheer for him.

"It's true. If it weren't for you, we may not have beaten him" Asuna agreed. Oh hey, I just noticed her cloak was gone. Ooh! She's so pretty!

"Stop cheering!" An annoying voice called out, making the room go silent. I glare over at the jerk face. What's up with him huh?! "Why'd you do it, huh? Why'd you let Diabel die?!" Oh….I'm not sure whether to pity him for his loss of a friend or whack him upside the head for blaming Kirito…

"Let him die?" Kirito muttered, looking offended and sad.

"That's what I said! Admit it! You knew the technique the boss was going to use! You could've told us, then Diabel would've stood a chance! He wouldn't have had to die!" And, of course, the idiot players started mutter and whispering, sending Kirito some off looks. Why I oughta-

"I know why he knew! He used to be a beta-tester! Think about it! He knew the boss' attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us!" One guy shouted, "And I bet he's not the only beta tester! Come on! Show yourselves!"

Me, Asuna, and Agil quickly make our way over to Kibaou, who was crying for the loss of our departed friend. "Calm down-" But then, for some odd reason, Kirito let out a laugh, which sounded a bit insane…

"So you guys think I used to be a beta tester? It's not cool to put me in the same class as those newbs" Kirito states, standing up with an admittedly evil smirk. What the heck is he doing…. "Most of the thousand people who scored a slot in SAO's beta were rookies who didn't even know how to level up. Even you guys are better than they were. But me? I'm nothing like those guys. During the beta, I made it to floors higher than any of the other testers. I knew about the boss because I've fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors. I know a bunch of other things too. More than you can imagine. More than any info broker."

"W-what? If that's true then, you're worse than a beta tester. You're a cheater! That's what you are!" Kibaou shouted. Wait...Oh that idiot…

"He's a beater!" One guy called out in anger, while Kirito just acted all cocky and careless.

"A beater, huh? That's a good name. I like it," Kirito opens his window and and taps a few buttons, "You can call me a beater. Just don't confuse me with those beta testers anymore." After pressing another button, a long black trenchcoat appears onto Kirito, finishing the look he was aiming for. He smirks one last time at us, before walking off towards the gate.

I sigh and shake my head. This death game is getting out of hand. I guess my uncle just wanted to create chaos or something. I walk over to Kibaou, and I smack the back of his head. "Wh-What the hell?!"

"I get it. Ok, you're upset and angry about Diabel's death. You aren't the only one. But that doesn't mean you should go around pointing fingers! Diabel would be disappointed in you! The only reason we knew otherwise is because, unlike you dolts, we actually read the guidebook. Chapter three, page forty, it's all about the weapons used in the game. It was obvious the attack pattern was changed the moment he took out a No-Daichi instead of a Talwar. And in case you didn't notice, we were trying to protect him. And you!" I spin towards the guy who was accusing the beta-testers, and I'm proud to say he did flinch, "How dare you! How dare all of you! Didn't you listen to the conversation we had yesterday at the meeting?! Diabel would be ashamed of all of you! He didn't care if someone was a beta tester or not! He just wanted to protect people and get us out of here! If we start mistrusting other people, it's just going to get us further from our goal! This entire game is now about teamwork. Everyone helps everyone. No one gets left behind, and no man for himself. And that's the only way we're going to win! And if you can't deal with that, then have fun dying." And with flick of my hair, I follow after Kirito, who had just finished talking with Asuna, who was currently walking back to the entrance.

"Hey Kirito?" He stopped and glanced back at me curiously. "I know what you did back there. Diabel wouldn't want you to lie for his sake, ya know."

"I didn't want them bunching beta testers together like that. It would've made Diabel's death just seem…"

"I understand. But still. You shouldn't have lied. I could've handled those idiots."

"I wasn't lying." I blink as he continues, "I did make it to higher levels than other players during the beta. And I was one of the stronger players too. The only thing I lied about was knowing the attack pattern. I thought it'd be like the beta, but it wasn't."

"Yeah. Just like my uncle. You never know what to expect" I mutter, before looking back at Kirito, "Are you sure you wanna go solo? I can come with you. I know I'm not like the 'oh so powerful beater', but I am pretty good." Kirito did crack a small smile at my sarcastic remark, but shook his head.

"I'm gonna go solo for a while. But you should find a partner or guild. There's only so much players can do as solo."

"Kinda contradicting, ya think?" I raise an eyebrow, making Kirito chuckle.

"A bit, yeah. But still." I sigh and shake my head in exasperation.

"Alright. I give up. But the least you can do is friend me, k?" Kirito opened his window and dismissed our party with Asuna. Ooh, I gotta friend her too. Once the party was gone though, Kirito walked through the door, leaving me behind. I pout since he didn't bothering sending a friend invite, before making my way back, hoping to find Asuna and Agil and friend them.

Though what really made me happy was the friend-vite the appeared in front of me, sent by none other than Kirito.


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Yeah, so, apparently, I'm a naturally weak person and I couldn't help but update again today. But that's it! this is the only time! Next update will be on monday! Please review and enjoy!**

 _ **March 4, 2023**_

I make my way through floor 9 happily. I am now at level 37, and proudly brandishing my new outfit. It was a combination of special clothes earned from previous quests and, honestly, I look awesome!

Asuna had joined the Knights of Blood guild, and Agil has chosen to be a shopkeeper. He's been my go-to guy for items, mostly weapons though. And me? I've been solo most of the time, but Asuna sometimes pairs up with me for adventures. Kirito, we message one another sometimes, and we do see one another on the front lines, but that's about it.

I stretch out my arms as I enter Agil's makeshift shop, "Hey Agil! I need you to check out this weapon I earned!" I grin at my big friend, but then notice another player with him, "Kirito! I haven't seen you for a while!" 

"Hi Mars" He greets.

"What'cha doing here? I thought you said you were going to do some extra quests" I say curiously, handing Agil the dagger.

"I am. Just wanted to stock up a bit first."

"Where'd you get this?" Agil asked, examining my dagger.

"I found it in a dungeon. It was a trap, but thankfully I made it through. It wasn't that high of a floor anyway."

Agil hands it back to me, "It's a very nice dagger. I'd keep it as a secondary weapon, probably hide it in a sleeve so others don't know about it until you use it."

"Thanks for the advice" I place the dagger in one of my arm gloves as suggested. After a goodbye to my two friends, I exit the shop and make my way towards the forest. But then I hear someone call out my name. I turn around to see Kirito running after me, "What is it?"

He takes a few breaths after finally reaching me before grinning, "You wanna partner up for a bit? It's been awhile, ya know."

"Sure. I've got a quest that requires a small party, so that'll be great. I was gonna ask Asuna, but since you're here,"

"Ok. Awesome!" Kirito opens his widow and sends me a party invitation, which I accept. Good thing he remembered I can't lead. "So what's this quest?"

 _~Skippy!~_

It's been a little over a month since me and Kirito have officially become partners. After the quest we did, we never got around to disbanding and just hung around. After two days of being a team, Kirito asked if we should be a permanent one, which I agreed. So, we've been a duo ever since. It's better this way, since, as Kirito said before, there's only so much a solo player can do.

And I have to admit, I have grown a large crush on him. I mean, how can you not?! He's absolutely amazing!

We walked through a dungeon, which happened to be a labyrinth, until we heard fighting. Being the kind hearts we are, me and Kirito instantly ran to help. A group of players were trying to fight off the monsters coming at them, while one player was extremely injured near by. Kirito rushed towards the monsters and held them off, while I got to work on the injured one. I gave him a potion to boost his HP out of the red, before hurrying the other players out. It was obvious we couldn't fight all of them off without casualties, which is what we were hoping to prevent. Once we reached the exit, I called out for Kirito, who soon appeared beside me.

I look at the only girl, who seemed frightened and gave her a gentle smile, "Are you ok?" She nodded while Kirito helped out the other guys with some potions, "I'm Mars, and this is my partner Kirito."

 _~Skippy!~_

The players, known as the Moonlit Black Cats, had taken us to their inn, and offered us food to thank us for helping them. Me and Kirito were sitting at the table while the Cats were celebrating. "Here's to us, the Moonlit Black Cats! Cheers everyone!" I feel a bit left out….

"I've got another," One of them, I think his name is Ducker, says, "Here's the the ones who saved our lives! To Kirito and Mars!" The others cheered and I couldn't help but lift up my cup with a small smile. The group then started thanking us profusely.

"It's cool guys" Kirito tried to wave them off, humble as ever.

"I can't tell you how scared I was," Sachi, the only girl, started, tearing up a bit, "And it made me so happy when you two came to save us, I…" 

I sweatdrop a bit. She seems rather sensitive…Then Keita, the Guild Leader, leaned in, "Uh, Kirito, sir, I hope I'm not out of line asking this, but I was wondering what level you're at?" 

"Uh, Level 20...So is Mars…" I frown. Again with the lies? We're both at level 40!

"Really? You're at our level and you're not in a guild? You're an inspiration sir!"

"We're not your superiors, Keita, you don't need to be so polite" I smile slightly.

"You know, I hate to just spring this on you, but if you both want, we'd love to have you in our guild" Keita offered, "Our mace wielder, Tetsuo, is the only one we can put out front right now. " Keita then starts patting poor Sachi's head, "And then we've got Sachi over here. I was thinking of switching her to sword and shield, that way, she can fight on the front lines. Thing is, she says she's not sure she can handle it. If you join us, maybe you can teach her a thing or two."

"Oh come on. I'm not that useless," Sachi whined, moving away from Keita, "Seriously, you can't just put me up front and expect me to know what to do. I'd be terrified!"

"It's no big deal, just hide behind your shield!" Tetsuo suggested.

"Yeah right! Ever since I can remember you've always been a scaredy cat" Keita added. The group shared a laugh, and I just felt even more awkward…. "We always joke around like that. See, in real life, we all go to the same high school, and are members of the computer club. But if you're concerned about fitting in, don't. As far as I'm concerned you're already apart of this group. Right?" The others all agreed, so I turn to Kirito to make the decision. He is the leader after all.

He frowned a bit and glanced at me, who gave him a pleading puppy face, and sighed, "Then…I guess we'll join you guys after all. Glad to work with you." Our new guild members cheered and started introducing themselves, with more partying. However, before we could start, I interrupted, needing to discuss something very important with my partner.

"But, if you'll excuse for just one moment, I need to speak with Kirito about something." I grabbed Kirito and drag him to a corner, and glare at him. He flinched a bit, but stood his ground. "What is wrong with you? How many times are you gonna lie? I say, since we're joining their guild, we tell them our real levels."

"But who knows what might happen if we tell them our real level? You know as well as I that we're stronger than most players. I may be known as a beater, but you aren't. People might think you're just a cheater."

"Then they'll be too stupid to realize it's not a matter of cheating, it's a matter of strategy and intelligence. I'm a high level because I've studied the guidebook, despite the differences, and I actually practice to increase my stats. Unlike lazy jerks like that Kibaou guy!" 

"Please Mars!" Kirito begs, "Look, we'll tell them eventually, just not now. K?" He just added his own pleading puppy face, which I'm apparently weak against. I sigh and nod.

"But we are going to tell them eventually!" I order, pointing a finger at his with a stern look. He grinned and nodded.

"Hey lovebirds, you gonna join us or not?" Kieta called over with a teasing grin, while the others laughed as me and Kirito blushed.

"We're not lovebirds!" we exclaim hurriedly. But the guild just laugh harders.

 **May 9, 2023**

Me and my guild were exploring a forest on floor 20, and eventually came to a giant praying mantis monster. Which made me jump into Kirito's arms with a screech. I hate bugs…. He chuckled, making me slap his chest, while the other immediately started fighting the monster. Kill it! Kill it!

Sachi had been convinced to use a sword and shield, mostly a shield, instead of her old weapons. Sasamaru was protecting her with his spear, until he was knocked back for a moment. The mantis then turned its attention to Sachi, who hid behind her shield. I command her to stay back and run forward. I feel very protective of her. She's like the little sister I've never had! Plus we're the only girls in the guild…

Anyway, I slice the mantis' arm off in an effort to protect her. And then run away from the severed arm clipper thing in fear. Kirito ordered Tetsuo to switch in, and he came running forward with his mace, slamming it into the monster's side, killing it. His window popped up with the teammates congratulating him.

But then Keita grinned deviously at me for some reason, "So Mars, when are you going to get off your little boyfriend there?" In which the other members looked over and started snickering. I was confused for a moment, until I looked down and realized that when I ran away, I ran towards Kirito and had climbed onto him. And he was blushing heavily since I apparently pushed my chest against him….

I shriek and jump up before slamming my fist into his head, "PERVERT!"

"HOW AM I THE PERVERT?! YOU WERE THE ONE-" But I cut him off with another punch before stalking away from the laughing guild.

 _~Skippy!~_

Kirito was eating some food while Keita was laying on the ground, reading the paper, and I just rolled down the hill repeatedly. What? It's fun! I used to always do this in RL (real life for those who don't know). "The Assault Team made it through Floor 28. That's amazing!" I sit up happily when I stop rolling beside Kirito, who then picks out some pieces of grass from my hair. I blush a bit, but ignore it and shake my hair out. "Hey guys. What the heck does the Assault Team have that we don't?"

"I heard they have access information which lets them know easier ways to access EXP!" I answer.

"They don't really like to share that information" Kirito added.

Keita sighed and put the paper down, "Probably, but I think what really sets them apart is willpower." 

"What do you mean?" Kirito questioned. Keita sits up and looks out into the sky.

"I guess what I mean is they have the will to stick up for their friends, or any player for that matter. Truth is, I like to think we have that same kind of drive, even though we still need the protection. That said, our first priority is looking out for each other. But one day, if we get strong enough, we'll join the elites in the Assault Team." Then Ducker jumps down behind us and grabs Keita in a playful headlock.

"Hey, leader, give me some love!"

"So you really think we can become as good as the Holy Dragon Alliance, or the Knights of the Blood Oath?" Tetsuo asked, with a smile.

"So what?! There's nothing wrong with setting your sights high! But we have to be level thirty!"

"That's impossible!" Sachi argued.

"Nothings impossible!" I retort, striking a pose, unable to resist, "Anything is possible if you just believe!"

"Corny!" Sasamaru laughed, throwing some grass at me.

"Hey!" I whined, before throwing some back. Though my aim was off and I hit Ducker instead. In the end, we all just started throwing grass at one another. Until Tetsuo had the great idea to add water from the stream into the mix and we all ended up soaked and covered in grass.

"Someone's got an admirer~" Ducker sang teasingly. I tilted my head in confusion, so Ducker pointed at Kirito, who started blushing when he realised we caught him staring.

"Why do you guys keep teasing us?!" I whine.

"When are you two gonna get married?" Tetsuo retorted. Which resulted in me and Kirito becoming stuttering and blushing messes.

 _~Skippy!~_

"I've got some good news guys!" Keita said, calling a meeting in our room (we share one to save money). It wasn't very big, and we had to share beds, but it was better than the streets. Though somehow, me and Kirito got tricked into sharing a bed….Why do I get the feeling that the guild wants to set us up or something? "After our last hunt in the field, we've got 200,000 Col!"

"Buying a house of our own doesn't seem like such a pipe dream anymore!" Tetsuo exclaimed happily as we cheered a bit. We've been wanting a house for a while.

"Why don't we upgrade Sachi's equipment?" Sasamaru suggested.

But Sachi shook her head, "I'm fine with what I have."

"Oh come on!" Sasamaru argued, "It's not fair to have Mars protect you all the time, ya know!" I slap the back of his head as Sachi tries to apologize. I hop over beside her and squish her into a hug.

"Aw! Don't be sorry! You're so cute! I can't let a cute girl like you get hurt in this death game!"

"I think you're suffocating her…." Kirito muttered, all the guys looking away with a small blush. Why are they blushing? "You might want to move her face from your," He coughed a bit, blushing some more, "Chest…"

"PERVERTS!"

 **June 12, 2023**

I skip through the town with the other members. Today we were finally going to get a house for our guild. Originally, Keita was going to go alone, but I convinced him to let me come. I walk onto the platform with him with a wave, "We're off guys!"

"See ya later! Teleport, Town of Beginnings!" Keita announced, before the two of us started glowing and were moved to the first floor. "Come on! Let's get searching!" We walk around the town, looking at house offers constantly, but so far unable to find a good one. "So what's up with you and Kirito, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's obviously you guys like each other! Probably even love!" I blush and stutter a bit before regaining my bearings.

"What are you talking about?! N-No way! You're imagining things!"

"Ha, o~kay!" Keita laughed with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I mean it! He's just my fighting partner! That's it!"

"Whatever you say, but everyone's already taken bets on when you guys are going to confess and get married!"

"I'm not ready for marriage!"

"Marriage is just dating in SAO, you do know that right?"

"..."

"Moron…."

"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME?!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Me: Hey guys! Just got my first review and I'm so happy! Moving on. This chapter is a bit sad, as you should know if you watch/read SAO. So, please review and enjoy!**

 _ **December 24, 2023**_

It's been months. Months since the death of our guild. My birthday came and went, and I am now 15 years old, and have experienced more loss than I ever thought I'd have. But at least me and Kirito have each other.

I remember that horrible day too clearly. Me and Keita had come back from buying a house, after countless arguments on the perfect one before coming to an agreement. But then, when we went back to Taft to share the news with our guild, we only saw Kirito. Who looked as though he had been crying. We became instantly worried and asked where the others were. But Kirito explained what happened. They wanted to surprise us with more money and went on a dungeon too high a level, and were slaughtered….But in the middle of explaining, Kirito accidentally let our levels out, and Keita freaked. He started yelling at Kirito, his anger and despair obvious. I, while crying for our loss, had tried to calm him down, but to no avail. He ended up committing suicide. Kirito tried to stop him, but wasn't able to reach him. I had collapsed, sobbing, and Kirito tried to comfort me, before having to carry me back to the inn after I blacked out from the stress.

However, I'm not as sad as I was the few months after their deaths. Not to say I don't mourn their loss, because I do, and there's no a day that goes by where I don't think about them, but life goes on, ya know. Instead of dealing with the past, we should focus on the future. We should use their deaths to drive us further towards our goal to clear the game. Though I can tell that Kirito is still stuck on it. But I don't blame him since he had to watch each of them die knowing he couldn't do anything. And I try to comfort my dear husband every time I see him become depressed.

Yes, I said husband. Turns out the guys were right before. We had gotten married in October. I remember that day clearly too.

 _~Flashback~_

 _I had entered our room at the inn and saw Kirito staring at the wall. Again. I sighed and silently closed the door before sitting next to him and leaning my head on his shoulder, not saying anything, just comforting him with my presence. I had learned it was better to just be there instead of trying to talk. But Kirito apparently had other ideas._

 _As soon as my head touched his shoulder, he moved me away and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine. My eyes had widened with surprise, but slowly closed as I leaned into the kiss. After what felt like hours, he pulled away and leaned his forehead against mine as we tried to catch our breath._

" _What was that for?" I asked quietly, still reeling from the kiss._

" _I love you." And that shocked me so much that I fell off the bed... Good thing this stuff doesn't happen in battles…"You ok?"_

" _Yeah.." I muttered, climbing back up the bed, "Just surprised me."_

 _"So?"_

" _Huh?"  
_

" _Is that it? I tell you I love you and you just fall off the bed?"  
_

" _Oh right" I cursed my stupidity before kissing him again, "I love you too."  
_

 _Kirito then smiled for the first time in a while, "Let's get married!"  
_

 _~End of flashback~_

After a while of being a statue, I just said yes (ok, more like I shrieked happily and jumped on him, but that's besides the point), and we were married the next day. And don't say anything about age or whatever, because in SAO, marriage is just a way of saying we're dating. After we were married, and a small honeymoon (it may be dating, but I insisted we needed a break after all the work we did on the front lines), Kirito trained me to the bone! I still feel sore! But now we share the level of 60. He said he didn't want to risk me being killed like the others due to a smaller level.

Anyway, now I'm trying to find a good Christmas gift for him. I was a bit surprised at the event, but I don't care, since Christmas is one of my favorite holidays! Uncle Akihiko used to dress up in Santa Claus costume and appear from the chimney. But the ash always made him look scary and I kept trying to attack him in fear, not knowing who he was...I was a very gullible child…

While looking at the shop windows, I bump into someone and we both fall to the ground. I rub my head a bit and look up, only to see Asuna! "Hey!"

She blinked at me for a moment, before grinning happily, "Mars! I haven't seen you in a while! Well, when you're not on the front lines." I see her occasionally when me and Kirito join the Assault Team, but we don't really talk much, since my poor husband doesn't do well in crowds.

"It's good to see you Asuna! Hey, let's go get some food and catch up!"

 _~Skippy!~_

"So you're not interested in the event boss?" Asuna questioned.

"What event boss?"

"According to the infobrokers, an event boss called Nicholas the Renegade is going to appear under a fir tree somewhere. But the player that defeats him will get a super rare item" She explained, "All the large guilds are looking all over for it. Including mine."

"You joined a guild?" I ask curiously.

She nodded happily, "The Knights of the Blood Oath." I gape at her. That's like, one of the most elite guilds out there! And I heard it's super hard to get in! Asuna snickered at my expression. I shook my head and snapped out of it.

"Well congrats then."

"What about you?" Asuna asked me, "How've you been?"

"I'm fine. Me and Kirito got married a few months back."

"Eh?!" I just laugh, albeit a bit nervously, and rub the back of my head. Asuna sighed, "I can't say I didn't expect it. What with you two flirting all the time on the front lines." 

"We don't do that!" Asuna just raised her eyebrow at me, "...Much…." However, I take notice of a message alert in the corner of my eyes and click on it curiously. A window pops up in front of me while Asuna looked confused.

"What's that?"

"Kirito got a new item…." I read the description and a tick mark appears on my forehead, "I'm gonna kill him!" 

_~Skippy!~_

I slam the door to our room open and stomp towards my husband, who was sulking on the table. "What the heck is wrong with you?! Why would you do something so stupid and reckless, huh?!" He stayed silent, so I continue, "Answer me will ya! Do you want to die or something?!"

"It's my fault…." This again... "If I had listened to you and told them our real levels, maybe I could've kept them from entering that dungeon…."

"Kirito, you can't focus on what ifs! It's sad and everything I know, and I still mourn them, but it's been months! This is ridiculous! Just stop blaming yourself!"

"How can you say that?!" Kirito exclaimed in anger, standing up and glaring at me, "It's my fault! It's my fault our guild is dead! It's my fault you're best friend is dead! How can _you_ not blame me for any of it?!"

"Why would I blame you?!" I shout back at him with a few tears gathering. This is our first fight as a couple, of course I'm getting emotional! "I could never blame you! You get enough of that from yourself, I'm not going to add to that weight, especially considering you're my in-game husband! And if it's anyone's fault then it's my uncle's for trapping us in this stupid death game in the first place! Just please stop! I can't handle you going off and trying to kill yourself due to guilt all the time! And what if you _had_ died?! What about me? Do I mean so little to you that you'd just waste your life and leave me behind?!" I sniffle a bit at the prospect of him dying. I can't handle being alone here! He's my husband (in-game or not, it doesn't matter) and I love him! He can't leave me in this game by myself!

Next thing I know, I'm wrapped in a tight hug as I try to stop my flow of tears. I hide my face into his shoulder, still trying to stop as I get his shirt wet. "I'm sorry. I...wasn't trying to kill myself or anything. I wanted to get the revival item for you."

"Why?" I hiccup, confused on his reasoning.

"I was hoping you could use it to revive Sachi. She was your best friend after all. But the item only revives a player within ten seconds of their deaths…." 

"Idiot….You didn't need to do that for me. The dead are meant to stay dead. That's how life is, unfortunately. But still….Thank you." But then a message popped up in front of Kirito, which he opened curiously.

"Sachi…" I turn and look at the message, to see it was a gift box from Sachi….How? He pressed the window, in which a recording diamond appeared in place. He gently pressed the play circle and the diamond starts glowing.

"Merry Christmas Kirito," Sachi's voice echoes through the silent room as we stare at the recording device in shock and awe, "You too Mars. If I know anything about you two at all, then you both are more than likely listening to this together. Hopefully you guys are married by now. And I'm probably dead. How can I explain this? Let's see….To tell you the truth, I never really wanted to leave the Town of Beginnings. And I knew if I fought with an attitude like that, I would end up dying one day. But that's not anyone's fault, it's something I have to deal with. Kirito, after that night you found me, when I ran away, you kept telling me that I wasn't going to die no matter what. I knew that if I died, you'd blame yourself. That's why I decided to record this message for you. And I knew how powerful you really are. Sorry, but I kind of saw when you thought I wasn't looking. I wondered why you hid what level you really were, and why you decided to fight with us, but I never figured it out. Although, I suppose Mars had something to do with it. Anyway, I felt relieved when I found out how strong you were. I want you to keep on living, and do all you can to protect Mars, will you? I know she can protect herself, but she's like a big sister to me, so I want her to live on and see the end of this world. Well, it looks like I still have some time left, so, since it's Christmas, I guess I'll sing a song for you guys." Kirito started crying on my own shoulder as Sachi started humming Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I feel like crying too... "Anyway, I'm so glad I got to be with the both of you. Even if it was only for a little while. Thank you. Goodbye."

Goodbye Sachi….


	5. Chapter 5

**Me: Hiya! So, new decision, I'm gonna update once a day as I've been so bored lately and I can't help but feel the itch to update. Anyway, please review and enjoy!**

 _ **February 23, 2024**_

Me and Kirito wander through the town, trying to find jobs to gain more EXP and Col. Kirito wanted me to get a stronger sword, due to the unique skill I gained. I say unique because it's not listed in any of the special skills and as far as we know, nobody else has it. Apparently, my username is ironic, as the special skill I had was called Fire Soul Sword. But my current swords can't handle the full flames and end up melting if I use them. And they are based on my feelings if I activate it, so the force depends on my mood. Kirito suggested we get a blacksmith to create a sword using dragon parts, as a dragon can withstand such heat. But we need enough money to pay for it as dragons are hard to beat and collecting from them is even harder.

Anyway, we were both distracted by another player running around frantically, tears in his eyes and shouting with desperation. With my heart reaching out to him, I rush over and try to calm him down.

"Please, someone avenge my friends! I'll pay anything!" he kept shouting.

"We'll do it. But you don't need to pay us" I tell him calmly. Me and Kirito both lead him away and after an hour of calming him down, he explained what had happened. A murder guild, Titan's Hand, had come to their guild in hopes of robbing it. But when they found out the guild didn't have anything worth to them, they killed all the members but the leader, who immediately set out to find someone strong enough to take them on. Poor guy. His entire guild was murdered because these idiots couldn't take the game seriously.

The guy gave us a teleportation crystal, which was set to the prison he wanted the guild to stay in. I have to admit, I admire the guy for that. Other players would've wanted them dead, but he wanted them to be in prison instead.

The next day, me and Kirito went to Floor 35 and asked around town if anyone had seen Rosalia. The only luck we had was someone saw her leave for the forest in a party with a popular beast tamer named Silica.

"So we're going to be separate?" I question, as he explained his idea.

"Yeah. If we both appear, she might figure out who we are and run. Remember the nicknames the other players came up with?"

"The Flame Queen and her shadow?" 

"Ok, technically I'm the Black Swordsman, but yeah. We're a rather infamous duo, you know. But if I'm the only one she sees, then chances are she won't figure it out too quickly."

"Good point. So, you want me to follow in the shadows until it's time to strike?"

"You got it."

"Whatever you say, love."

 _~Skippy!~_

I hide in a tree while Kirito saves Silica from a trio of monsters. Though Silica was crying on the ground. Maybe her friend died...Poor girl. Kirito kills the three monsters while Silica clutches a glowing feather, tears streaming down her face.

"What's that feather?" I hear Kirito ask.

"It's Pina" Silica sobbed, "My best friend…"

"You're one of those beast tamers, aren't you. I'm sorry. If I got here sooner, I could've saved your friend." Is this how it's always gonna be? Someone dies and you instantly blame yourself? I swear I'm gonna knock that out of your head…

But Silica shakes her head, "It's all my fault. It was stupid of me to think I could make it through the forest on my own. Thank you for saving me. You did what you could." 

Kirito walks closer to Silica and examines the item, "That feather, check and see if it has an item name attached to it." Silica does as suggested, but I couldn't read it as she starts crying again. "Hey, don't cry. That means Pina's Heart's still here. There's a chance you can revive it."

"No way, really?" Silica asked hopefully, as she looks at my husband, who nodded.

"On the south side of Floor 47, there's a field dungeon called the Hill of Memories. I've heard somewhere that the flower growing at the top can revive familiars. I'd offer to go get it for you, but the flower won't bloom unless the familiar's master's there."

Silica smiled widely, hope filling her eyes, "Thank you so much for telling me about it! If I work hard to raise my level, then someday I could-"

"Sure but the time limits three days to revive it" Kirito crushed her hope...My husband can be so blunt and cruel…

"No way…" And she started crying again. Stupid Kirito. "It's all my fault. I'm so sorry, Pina."

"That's ok. You have three days. Take this equipment. It should boost you five or six levels" Kirito offered, sending her some of our items. But that's ok, since we didn't really need those items. Our levels were high enough. "And if I tag along, I'm sure everything will work alright."

"But," Silica stood up and looked at my husband with confusion, "Why would you do all this for me?"

Kirito paused and looked away, "I'll tell you, but promise not to laugh," Weird, he looked towards the tree I was hiding in with a stern expression.

"I won't" Silica answered, while I give my husband a sly grin and pretend to zip my mouth. He groaned a bit, placing his hand over his eyes.

"Alright. It's because you look like my little sister." And both me and Silica laughed. Ok, well, I snickered and snorted while trying to hold in my laughter. Kirito glared at me, which just made me laugh harder.

"I'm sorry" the beast tamer apologized, before opening her own window, "Um, I know this isn't enough Col to pay you back, but-"

"No, it's cool" Kirito waved her off, "Besides, it works with why I'm here. We'll be helping each other out."

"Alright then. My name's Silica." 

"I'm Kirito. I guess we'll be working together for a while."

 _~Skippy!~_

I follow the two into Mishe, jumping from buildings while in the shadows. I had to change out of my beloved white and purple outfit into an all black one, but that's ok. It's times like these where I'm glad I trained my hearing level so I could listen to them and other conversations, looking out for Rosalia. But then some guys called out for Silica, making both of them stop as two guys ran towards her. "It took you a long time to get back. We were getting worried!"

"You wanna team up with us? We'll take you wherever you wanna go!" the other one said happily.

"That's really nice of you to offer, but," She glanced at my husband, before grabbing his arm, "I've sorta already agreed to be in a party with him, so…" The two guys glare at him, while I narrow my eyes a bit at Silica. Yes, I'm the jealous type. "Ok, see ya, bye!"

"Do you live around here, Kirito?" Silica asked as they walked away.

"I'm on Floor 50. It's a bit of a hassle to head back, so I was going to get a room at an inn tonight."

"If you stay, I'll take you out to get some cheesecake. It's really good here" the beast tamer offered. Grr….

"Well, if it isn't Silica" A woman said. This has to be Rosalia. "Wow, you made it out of the forest alive! Good for you girl." I notice Kirito asked Silica if she was alright, and just said she was fine. "Hang on. Where's that little lizard of yours? Did it run away?" Hatehatehatehatehatehate-

"Pina died saving me" Silica explained sadly, "But I'm gonna get Pina back!"

"Really? I guess you'll be heading for the Hill of Memories. I wonder if you'll be able to clear it with your level" Rosalia mocked her. If she keeps this up, sorry love, but I'm moving ahead with the plan.

"Of course she will," My beloved husband cut in, "It's not that difficult a level."

"Oh geez, this girl's seduced another player" Rosalia sighed. Yeah, no. If she seduced him, she'd be tied upside down on a tree branch. "True it's not that difficult a level, but you don't look very strong to me." Ha, idiot.

"Come on" Kirito urged Silica away. I follow them to a tavern and take a table in the dark corner, facing the duo. I kept making faces at my husband, who was trying to not laugh and hiding his snorts from Silica.

"Why does she have to be so mean to me?" Silica sighed.

"Well, is Sword Art Online your first MMO?" Silica nodded, so Kirito explained for her, "A lot of people's personalities change when they play games online. And some actually like playing the game as a bad guy. You see how our cursors are green? Well if you commit a crime against another player, your cursor turns orange. Then there's the red players. They're the worst. They're also known as player killers, it's all about murder with them."

"They kill other players?" Silica asked worriedly. I don't blame her. It's even worse in this game, since we actually die here.

"In a normal game, they play as a bad guy, have some laughs, and it's cool. But SAO isn't normal. This isn't a game, and for some reason, other players just don't understand."

Silica was quiet for a moment as Kirito stared at his cup, before she started talking really fast and reached over, grabbing his hands, "Well I think you're good, I mean you saved me after all!" GRRRRRRR!

And Kirito smiled at her! GAH! "Look like you cheered me up instead. Thanks Silica." And Silica freaked out and started blushing crazy, acting all flustered. Hatehatehatehatehatehate-

A dark aura overshadowed me as I continued to glare at the girl, who didn't notice. However, same can't be said about my husband, who looked amused and confused.

 _~Skippy!~_

"What's up with you?" he asked as I glared at the wall in our room. I snuck in through the window after he opened it for me.

"Nothing…"

"Seriously, you kept glaring at Silica? Why?"

"Don't worry about it…"

Kirito sighed and sat on the bed beside me, "Come on. Tell me. You're my wife, you can't keep secrets you know." 

I sigh, knowing he's right. I hate it when he's right. "It's just, I don't like you being with Silica…." 

"Why? You have no problem with me spending time with Asuna. What's so different?" That's because Asuna doesn't flirt with you….

"Just, don't give her the wrong ideas, ok?"

"What do you mean?"

I curse my husband's obliviousness….

 _~Skippy!~_

I used a crystal to enter Floor 47 without notice, landing behind a tree. I follow the two through the floor, having to deal with Silica blushing at the nearby couples. This was one of the floors Kirito took me to for some alone time. It's really beautiful here too.

Kirito hands Silica a crystal, explaining to her, "If anything bad happens, I want you to use this crystal to teleport back to town."

"But-"

"No buts, use it" Kirito ordered. He was a natural leader after all. He likes taking charge.

"I understand" Silica said after a moment, taking the crystal from him.

"Well let's get going. If we take this path, it'll lead us right to the Hill of Memories." Silica follows after Kirito, but is soon caught by a large plant monster, hanging her upside-down. She quickly grabbed her skirt and held it in place to prevent it from falling, and waved around frantically.

"Save me, Kirito! Don't look but save me!" She pleaded as Kirito covered his eyes. Though I did notice him peek out every once and awhile. So I threw a rock at his head. He glared over at my hidden figure and I huffed. While we were arguing with our eyes, Silica had ended up slicing the monster's vines, before hitting it with a final blow.

"You didn't see anything, did you?" she asked, blushing with small tears of embarrassment.

"Not really" Kirito replied, sending one last glare towards me. Don't glare at me! 

_~Skippy!~_

The entire travel, Kirito was helping Silica level up and was teaching her new techniques, in between explaining his sister in RL. I already know about it, as he told me about his life during our honeymoon, and I told him about my life. About my friends, my family, my close relationship with my uncle before all this happened. He said that my uncle may have based a lot of the game areas on my likes, but I waved him off. I'm sure he had a few ideas, which I admit because of Nicholas the Renegade, who was obviously based off my monstrous view of Uncle Aki when I was younger on Christmas.

I was happy to see that, halfway into their trip, Titan's Hand led by Rosalia was following them in shadows like me. Only they didn't notice me, just as I wanted.

On their way back, since Kirito convinced Silica to wait until they got back to town to not make Titan's Hand become uninterested anymore, he stopped Silica and called out for them, "Whoever's hiding out there, come out now." Rosalia, the idiot, came out from her hiding spot. 

"If you saw through my hiding skill, your detection skill must being really high, swordsman. Ooh, looks like you were successful in getting your hands on the Pneuma Flower. Congratulations" Rosalia smiled, before smirking evilly, "Now, hand it over before you get hurt."

"What are you talking about?" Silica muttered, taking a step back while Rosalia moved forwards.

"No one's handing anything over Rosalia, or should I say the leader of Titan's Hand?" Kirito smirked back.

"But Rosalia's cursor is green" Silica argued, not understanding.

"It's an easy trick. The green members find their victims, then they lure them straight to the orange players for the ambush."

"Then the reason you were in that party with me and the others was to…." 

"How perceptive. I was observing their strength, and watching them earn all that beautiful money. You were the one I was excited about, and I was so sad when you left the party. But then you told me you were getting a rare item!" Rosalia said condescendingly, "What I want to know is if you knew about us, why did you bring her here? Are you dumb? Or does she have you wrapped around her finger?" More like _I_ have him wrapped around my finger, but that's besides the point.

"Nope. You're wrong both times," Kirito stated, giving me a subtle signal to wait. "See, I've been looking all over for _you_ , Rosalia."

"What are you talking about?" She asked almost boredly.

"Ten days ago you attack a guild called the Silver Flags. The leader survived, four didn't."

"Oh, the losers with no money" She said casually as she twirls a piece of her hair, making me want to rip her head off.

"Their leader went back and forth, from the warp-points to the front lines, morning till night, and with tears in his eyes he begged everyone he met to avenge his friends. But he didn't want you killed. He wanted you to go to prison. Do you have any idea how he felt?"

"Can't say I do" Rosalia said, before placing a hand on her hip, "Only idiots take this seriously. So what if we kill someone here? There's not proof dying here means you die IRL. Anyway, it's time you start worrying about yourselves." She snapped her fingers and seven more players came out of hiding, one green, and the rest orange. I look at Kirito, but he gestures for me to stay hidden.

"Keep the crystal handy until I say so" Kirito ordered Silica, who nodded, before he walked forward.

"Kirito!" Silica called with fear, but my husband just took out his sword as she hid behind. However, the guild members seemed a bit shocked.

"Kirito? Dressed in black, one handed, no shield. Holy crap! That's the Black Swordsman! Rosalia! That guy is the beater who plays on the front lines with the Assault Team!"

"Why would someone from the Assault Teams be all the way out here? Go on! Take him out! And take everything he owns!" Rosalia commanded, not really believing Kirito is the infamous beater. Just wait till I come out. Idiot's gonna get what's coming to her. Plus, if he dies, everything he has, will automatically go to me. So she can't get anything from him. Kirito stands still while the male players continuously strike him with their swords. I'm so glad he gained that skill. "You fools, what are you doing?! Kill him already!"

"400 in 10 seconds, give or take. That's about the total damage the seven of you can inflict on me. I'm level 78, I've got 14500 HP, my battle healing skill auto-regenerates 600 points every ten seconds. We could stand here all day and you would never get anywhere."

"That's not possible" One player argued, but Kirito glared back at him.

"Wanna bet? If your numbers are high enough, you're invincible. MMO's that use leveling systems are unfair that way." Kirito then took out the teleport crystal the guy gave us, "My client spent his entire fortune on this warp crystal and he'll get his money's worth. It's been set to the coordinates of the prison. And I'm sending every one of you there!"

"Well, I'm green! If you hurt me, you'll go orange!" Rosalia argued, pointing her spear towards my husband.

"Who said _I_ was going to hurt you? Don't you know anything? I'm not just the Black Swordsman, you know." Taking that as a signal, I leap down and use my speed to appear behind Rosalia, grabbing her by the collar and holding my sword near her neck. Deciding to be dramatic, I light my sword on fire with my magic and wave it in front of Rosalia, gleefully. "I'm also the Flame Queen's Shadow."

"We don't belong to a guild. You honestly think we care if one of us turns orange for a few days?" I push her towards the rest of Titan's Hand, who Kirito quickly tied up using his own super speed, and my husband activated the crystal, sending the entire guild to prison. "That was surprisingly easy."

"Eh" Kirito just shrugged, before taking out a rose he apparently had and tucked it behind my ear. I give him a curious glance, "I picked it for you when you weren't looking. You said roses were your favorite flowers."

"Uh, Kirito," We look over at Silica, who was watching me warily, "Who's this?"

"Oh right! Silica, this is Mars, my wife."

"W-WIFE?!"

After Kirito insisted on talking with Silica alone, I met up with them outside the inn. But they were with a small blue dragon, who I assumed was Pina. I wrap my arm around Kirito's and cuddle up to him happily. And I didn't do that just to let Silica know he's mine. Not at all.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Silica. Sorry we had to use you as bait" I apologized.

"It's ok" She said quietly, looking a bit sad at our intertwined arms. I feel so mean at that, but better she knows now than give her false hope. "I had fun partying with Kirito."

Kirito smiled at her, "Well we better get going. But we should meet up soon, ok?" Silica nodded happily, with her dragon giving a small happy roar.


	6. Chapter 6

**Me: RAWR! Prepare for the beast! RAWR! Jk! Just got back from a nice day of Capture the Flag with my family and friends! My team won thanks to my good friend (who happened to be the one who got me into SAO!), who ran for the flag while I 'arrested' the other team's captain (I ran across the picnic tables, much to her shock and dismay). SO, yeah, I'm happy! Enough about me. Review and enjoy please!**

 _ **March 6, 2014**_

The entire Assault Team, me and Kirito included, were discussing on how to defeat the floor boss, with Asuna leading the meeting. She slammed her hand onto the slab table we were using for a map, "We'll lure the boss into the village."

"Wait, you can't be serious!" Kirito exclaimed, stepping forward, "If we do the boss will go after the villagers!"

"That's the idea" Asuna said, "And while the boss is killing NPCs, we can attack it and destroy it."

"But they're not just objects!" My husband argues. My sweet Kirito. He even has compassion towards data-based beings. Not to say I agree with Asuna's plan either, I'm just saying it's admiring of him. But still….Him and Asuna constantly argue during these meetings now...It might be my fault as this started after I told her of our marriage. She's very protective, and constantly threatens him if he hurts me at all. "NPCs are different from rocks and trees! They're-"

"Alive? Is that it?" She questioned, a stern glare in her eyes. "In this game, they are just objects, and unlike us, if they're killed, they can just respawn."

"Sorry, but I'm not cool with that plan" Kirito huffed.

"I'm running this operation, in case you forgot. I'm still second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood Oath. You'll obey my orders, like it or not."

"Not like you'd let him forget it…" I mutter.

"What?!"

I groan, "Every meeting you two are constantly arguing! Why can't we have a nice, calm discussion on how to beat up monsters?" I heard a few murmurs of agreements from other players, who have also gotten tired of the fighting. "Anyway, I don't like the plan either." Asuna goes to argue, but I continue, "You're forgetting there's living players in that town too. They don't fight like us. They live in the town and are settled there, relying on us to get everyone through this game."

"We'll evacuate the players, and leave the NPCs. And nobody can die in a town. It's a safe area."

"That's besides the point. And who's to say the monster won't ignore them? For all we know, it's programmed to go after players, and won't bother the NPCs at all. I'm not going through will a plan that has too many risks like this. Sorry Asuna, but I think you need a new strategy."

 _ **April 11, 2024**_

So, originally, we were suppose to be on the front lines, but the weather was just amazing, so I convinced Kirito to take the day off with me, which he heartily agreed. So we were laying in the nice shade of tree on Floor 59, me cuddling up to him as he laid on his back with one arm behind his head and one arm around my waist.

"What are you doing?" I peek one eye open to see Asuna glaring down at us, specifically Kirito, with her hands on her hips.

"On hey. What's up?" Kirito asked casually, closing his eyes once more. I follow his example, and nuzzle into his chest.

"Everyone on the Assault Team is working their butts off to clear the dungeon, and where do I find the two of you? Canoodling with one another under a tree!"

"Technically, we aren't canoodling, as that involves kissing" I point out.

"But if that's how you want to see it," Kirito smirked deviously at her before pulling my head up and placing his lips on mine. I hear Asuna huff as I snort, pulling away from him. I lightly smack his chest as punishment and go back to trying to nap.

"Whatever! Even though you two are a duo team, that doesn't mean-" 

"Bet you didn't know this is Aincrad's nicest season. Today's weather is at its optimum setting," My husband explained, "As my dear wife pointed out to me earlier, it'd be a waste to work on a day like this."

"So it's your fault" She muttered, staring daggers in my head. I don't need to open my eyes to know that. I can feel it… "I can't believe you two! Do you even understand what's going on?! Everyday here is another one lost in the real world."

"So? We aren't in the real world right now. We're alive in Aincrad, and here, every moment of our lives count as we don't know if or when we're going to die. You'd hear the same back IRL. Why waste it doing nothing but work? When I die, I at least want to have lived to the fullest, not completely filled with battling for my life" I explain to her, before sighing at the nice breeze brushing against us.

"See?" Kirito asked, "Doesn't that breeze and the sun feel nice?"

"Oh come on. The weather's always the same here" She scoffed.

"You'd understand if you laid down on the grass for a bit." But I didn't hear anything else as I really did fall asleep.

 _~Skippy!~_

I yawn and stretch out my arms, slowly blinking the sleep from my eyes. It was darker out now, and I apparently was the last one awake. Kirito was hiding behind a stone wall, and Asuna...looked like she was ready to slice him in half. "What'd I miss?"

"Asuna actually fell asleep and apparently blames me" Kirito sweatdropped, looking at the other teen with fear. I throw grass at her sluggishly.

"Don't blame my husband...And don't hurt him either. I don't feel like getting another one."

"Hey!"

Asuna shook a bit, before sheathing her sword. "You get one meal…" Kirito and I look at her in confusion, "You get one meal, all you can eat, my treat. Then we'll be even. Deal?"

"I'm so confused…." I mutter.

 _~Skippy!~_

Asuna took us to Floor 57, to a nice restaurant there. And it was a bit annoying hearing all the not so quiet whispers from the other players there. Kirito heard them too. And sent them a look meant to kill when one of them wondered aloud who I was. His exact words were, 'And who's that hot chick sitting next to the shady guy dressed in black?'...Though that glare did stop most of the whispers.

"Well, anyway," Asuna started, dragging my husband's attention away from the now frightened players, "Thank you, for today." Funny, her mouth said 'thank you', and her eyes said 'drop dead'….

"Why?" Kirito asked, obviously as confused as me.

"For watching over me."

"Oh, sure…" 

"Still don't understand~"

"Kirito kept an eye out for me while I slept. You too, but you're his wife, so it's obvious he'd look out for you."

"Oh." 

Asuna sighed and twiddled her thumbs, "The towns are suppose to be safe zones, and unless you've agreed to a duel, a player can't attack or kill you. But when you're asleep, you're vulnerable." 

"Yeah," Kirito agreed. For once. "Now we've got player killers who can cheat the duels system. Duels are normally supposed to be tests of strength, not a fight to the death. But even if you duel in a safe zone, your HP is still going to go down based on the damage you take."

"All a sleep PKer has to do is manipulate a sleeping player's finger to click the ok button. The duel begins like normal, but the sleep Pker doing all the attacking. Who knows how many times it's happened…"

"Ok...Now I'm afraid of sleeping outside an inn, but thank you for the information" I mutter, becoming depressed. What the heck is wrong with everybody?! Why is everything about killing now?!

"You didn't know before?" Asuna asked curiously, glancing at Kirito, who inched away from me. I turn towards him with a raised eyebrow, making him sweat.

"W-well, I, uh-As your husband, I just don't want you to worry, and-um-"

"What the heck is wrong with you? She has a right to know" Asuna scolded.

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting her!"

"But what about when you sleep, huh?"

"I'm a light sleeper!"

"Pfft," I scoff, "Light sleeper my butt. The entire town could be ablaze in the middle of the night, and you'd still be sleeping through all the screaming of terror."

"Liar!"

I raise my eyebrow again, "Are you arguing with me?"

"….Sorry sweetheart…"

"Good boy."

"Wow" Asuna whistled with amazement, "She's got you so whipped." 

"Hey!" 

"You know it's true."

"..." Then my husband let out a defeated sigh as he sulked, "Yeah…."

I'm so proud of myself.

However, a scream then echoes around us, instantly making us alert and ready as we rush out the door towards the scream. I gasp as we see a man being hung from a tower, with a spear sticking right through him. 

"Hurry, pull it out!" Kirito shouted up to him as we run forward.

Asuna rushed towards the entrance of the tower, "I'll cut him down, you two catch him!" Me and Kirito hurry to the man, who was trying to pull the spear out of his chest. However, before anyone can help him, he then shattered, the spear falling down. Kirito quickly moved me out of the way, since I was too close to the spear, that somehow killed in a safe zone. Then again, it could've been a duel.

Which is exactly what Kirito must've been thinking as he quickly called out for everyone to look for the player with a winner icon. Asuna came onto the balcony the man was being hung from, "There's no one here, the room's empty!"

I grab the spear that caused this and went up the tower with my husband. I hand him the spear and look at the rope. "I know players duel, and some of them are horrible to ruthlessly kill the other player off, but this…This was just cruel and inhumane…"

"But that's the thing. Nobody had a winner's icon. They couldn't have gotten away that fast without anyone seeing them. The plaza was packed."

"That's impossible" Asuna argued, "It's a safe zone and a player died. A duel's the only thing it could've been." She paused and sighed, "Or maybe not. Either way, we can't ignore this. As it is, a player takes huge risks going outside a safe zone, but if someone's found a way to PK inside….No one's going to be safe in the towns either." I nod sadly. "Guess we're not going to the front lines anytime soon." Asuna then walked over to my husband and held out her hand, "Listen, you're going to work with me until we've solved this thing. Until we do, there won't be any time for napping, ok?"

"Ok," Kirito shook her hand, "And it was Mars' idea anyway. Beside, you're the one who was napping." To which Asuna crushed his hand. My poor stupid husband….

We head back to the plaza, where everyone had gathered and were whispering about what just happened. Not that I blame them. It was a bit frightening to see. Kirito stepped forward, "Did anyone see what happened before that player died? If someone did, please speak up!" There was more whispering, until a blue haired girl softly walked towards, looking very scared and sad.

"Sorry. I can imagine how frightened you are" Asuna apologized, "Could you tell us your name?"

"Uh...my name is Yoroko."

"Was that you? I mean, were you the one that screamed?" Kirito asked.

Yoroko nodded as tears gathered in her eyes, "I knew him. His name is Kains and the two of us used to belong to the same guild. We were going to meet together today. We were supposed to have dinner somewhere in town. But we got separated in the plaza. I looked around for him, then I saw him hanging from that balcony and," Yoroko let out a sob as tear streaked down her face, and couldn't finish. Asuna instantly leapt forward and tried to comfort her.

"Was there, anyone else up there?" She asked softly.

"For a second there….I'm not sure, but I think I did see someone standing behind Kains…"

"And, do you remember if you have seen them before?" I ask her gently. She shook her head a bit, wiping a few tears away.

"Um, I know this is hard for you, but, think back and try to remember. Could there be someone, anyone with a reason to kill him?" Kirito asked, trying not to make her upset. I notice her gain a frightened and worried look in her eye, but she shook her head instead.

Something tells me she's not revealing everything…

 _~Skippy!~_

"Thank you for walking me back. Sorry if it's out of your way" Yoroko apologized after we brought her back to the inn she was staying at.

"Don't worry about it. But we'd like to talk to you again tomorrow, if you're feeling up to it" Asuna said. Yoroko agreed and we left her alone for the night, walking through the town, going over what happened. "If we can find out where that spear came from, it might lead us straight to the killer." 

"Then we'll need to find someone with an appraisal skill. It's pretty obvious you don't have one" Kirito said.

"No I don't. And neither for you or Mars. And by the way, try not to be so rude when speaking to me."

"Uh, ok. Should I call you 'miss' next time?" Asuna glared at him. I don't think she was talking about what he called her... "Second in command?" More glaring, "Lightning Flash?" Asuna groaned and turned to me.

"You're husband's an idiot." 

"True, but he's my idiot."

"Hey!" Said idiotic husband whined.

"Back to the appraisal skill," Asuna got us back on track, "I have a friend who has one, a weapon's merchant, but she's really busy these days, so I don't think she'll have time to help us."

"No need. We know an item's merchant who'll be able to help us out" I tell her. Cue a curious look from Asuna, and a confused one from Kirito. He's really not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to anything other than battles….

 _~Skippy!~_

I lead them to Floor 50, where Agil set up a permanent shop. Thankfully, Kirito finally figured out who I was talking about when we reached his floor. As we head to his shop, another player leaves with Agil calling for him to come back again. Kirito smirked, "Looks like you're still running those suckers down with those hard deals of yours."

"Kirito! Mars! Buy cheap and sell cheap, that's my motto. I'm a businessman, you know that."

"Pretty sure that second part is a lie" I tease as he and Kirito fist bump and I hug him happily. He's like the big brother I never got! I'm an only child.

"Don't go slandering my good name" Agil retorted, before seeing Asuna walk in. Agil grabbed Kirito and pulled him over the counter, much to the shock of the three of us. "What the heck has gotten into you?! What are you doing hanging around with Asuna? I thought you guys hated each other's guts! You're not cheating on Mars, are you?!"

"WHAT?!" All three of us exclaimed.

"I'd never do that!"

"I'm right here you know!"

"As if I'd ever have a romantic relationship with this idiot! He is _so_ not my type!"

"Ok, ok" Agil waved his arms, though obviously amused. But we soon got to business and explained the situation to him. "His HP dropped to 0 in a safe zone? You sure it wasn't a duel?"

"No one saw a winner icon" Kirito explained.

"We can all rule out the murder being a sleep PK. He was walking with Yoroko before it happened."

"And his death was too elaborate to be some random duel" I added in, "The PKer who did this had it planned out."

"And then, there's this" Kirito gestured to the spear lying on the table. Agil picked up the spear and examined it and it's info.

"A player made this" He said after a moment, much to our shock.

"Who?"

"Grimlock" He answered, "Never heard that name before. He's not one of the top blacksmiths, that's for sure. As far as I can tell, there's nothing special about this."

"Yeah, but it's something to go on, right?" Asuna asked, and Kirito nodded.

"Is that an item name listed?" I ask curiously.

"You'll love it. Guilty Thorn. There's a name for ya. It kinda fits though, don't you think?" Agil hands the weapon back to Kirito.

"Well then," And of course my husband proves his idiocy by positioning the spear in front of his hand, about to stab it. Both me and Asuna leap forward and grab his hand before he can do so.

"Are you really such an idiot?!" Asuna shouted, before pausing, "Wait, don't answer that." 

"Hey!"

"Don't 'hey' her! What is wrong with you! You're so reckless! Honestly, I swear you'd be dead right now if it weren't for me!" I shout at him, before snatching the spear from Kirito and handing it back to Agil, "Hold onto this for us!"

"Uh...ok" he sweatdropped.

 _~Skippy!~_

The next day, we met up with Yoroko at the restaurant Asuna took us to before. Only it was really just us four here, other than the NPC workers. It was silent, until Asuna started talking, "So, uh, Yoroko, we were wondering if you've ever heard the name Grimlock."

Yoroko's eyes widen like yesterday, and I assume that means he is going to be our main suspect. After all, she had the same frightened look when we asked if she knew anyone who would want to kill Kains. "Yes. I have. Actually, until a few months ago, he was, in the guild with me and Kains."

Me, Kirito, and Asuna exchange a look, before my husband leans forward a bit, "Listen. Yesterday, we took the spear that impaled Kains to an appraiser. We had him go over it pretty carefully, and we found out Grimlock made it." Yoroko took a sharp intake of breath at the reveal, "Can you, think of any reason why he did?"

After a moment, Yoroko nodded, "Yes, I can. I should have told you everything yesterday, it's just...I couldn't. It's something I've been trying very hard to forget. But now, I have no choice. I should tell you how my guild was destroyed. When we formed it, Golden Apple was the name we chose. Six months ago, we killed a rare monster, and it dropped a powerful ring that raised a player's agility by 20. Some of us wanted to keep it for the guild, others wanted to sell it and split the earnings. We couldn't agree and in the end, we put it to a vote. It was 5-3 in favor of selling it. Our leader, Griselda, took it to a large town on the front lines. She was going to sell it to a broker and stay overnight. We waited and waited, but she never came back. It wasn't until later when we learned our worst fears had come true. Griselda was dead. To this day, I still don't know how she died."

"No one would leave a safe zone with a rare item like that" I mutter. Only an idiot would, and I doubt a leader like Griselda would be as such. "Could it have been one of those sleep PKers?"

"Not if it was six months ago" Asuna explained to me, "It's still pretty new."

Kirito added in his own bit, "But she wasn't a random victim either. The killer had to be after the ring, so it must have been someone who knew she had it. Which means…."

"The killer is one of the former members of our guild" Yoroko finished sadly.

"We have our suspects, now we just have to figure out who didn't want to sell the ring."

"I doubt the killer waited until after Griselda sold the ring. She had to have been killed before that" Asuna suggested.

"Most likely" Kirito nodded. I examine Yoroko a bit. She was avoiding eye contact...A little bit suspicious.

"Tell us what you know about Grimlock" I tell her.

"Well, for starters, he was Griselda's husband. Only in-game though. Griselda was a powerful swordswoman. She was beautiful, and smart. Grimlock was kind, and I can't remember a day when he wasn't smiling. They made a great couple and got along as husband and wife. If Grimlock really was the one who murdered Kains yesterday, then he's probably going after the three guild members who were against selling the ring."

"You and Kains were two of them, weren't you" I remark, and she flinched a bit before nodding. "Who was the third?"

"A tank named Schmitt. The last I heard, he was on the front lines with the Holy Dragon Alliance."

"He's the leader of the defense unit of the Holy Dragon Alliance" Asuna added, "He's an exceptional lancer."

"Oh, yeah. I remember him" Kirito muttered.

"Do you really know Schmitt?" Yoroko asked curiously.

"We've run into him a couple times while clearing bosses."

"I really need you to take me to him. If he's on the front lines, he probably hasn't heard about the murder!" Yoroko said frantically, obviously worried about her old guild member, "He has to know before what happened to Kains happens to him."

Asuna told her that she knew someone who could get us in contact with him, and Kirito said we had to take Yoroko back to her inn. He also gave her instruction to not leave until we got back from recovering Schmitt. So, soon, we were on our way.

"So how do you guys think a murder like this happened in a safe zone?" Asuna asked as we walked down an alley-way. Kirito insisted on having me walk right next to him with his arm around me, as it was drizzling and I'm a bit sensitive to the cold.

"I can see three ways it could've happened. Right off the bat, it's possible it was a fair duel. Or maybe, someone took advantage with a bug that allows a bunch of different kill methods. And the third would be they used something to bypass the protection of a safe zone. Some kind of skill or maybe an item." Kirito thought for a moment, "On second thought, the third one is impossible. It would be completely unfair. And as much as I hate to admit it, but the rules of SAO are essentially fair for every player in the game. So there's no way the game would allow murders within safe zones."

"I doubt the second one too" I add in, "My uncle is a complete genius. I don't think he would release this game with a glitch like that. He triple checks everything he creates before making it public. And with something like this, I'm sure he would've checked at least five times. After all, if you think about it, this is his own prison too. He won't risk himself like that. And I'd like to think he wouldn't risk that for me either, but you know, I think he's a sociopath, so…."

"His prison?" Asuna questioned.

"Think about it. He can't leave this game. Even if he had some way to exit without clearing his own game. When he showed the media reports, a lot of them mentioned how he practically vanished. He has to be hidden in the game somewhere. If he went back to real life, he'd be a wanted man, and have to be constantly on the run. This place, it's his paradise. He, of all people, wouldn't make a mistake as a glitch that allows murder in safe zones in a death game."

 _~Skippy!~_

We had found Schmitt and explained the situation to him after bringing him back to Yoroko's inn. "So that's what killed Kains. And you're sure the spear was Grimlocks?"

Yoroko nodded slowly, "There's no doubt."

"But why would he wait six months to kill him?! He...Did he steal the ring? Do you think it's possible he killed Griselda after all? Does Grimlock want to kill the three of us because we didn't want to sell the stupid ring?! Is that why he's after you and me now?" 

"Calm down" I say gently, "We don't know if anyone is after you two as well. We're just taking precaution."

"And maybe Grimlock made the spear for someone else from the guild. Maybe they're the ones that killed Kains. Or maybe...Griselda's coming from the dead to get her revenge." To which I freeze and hid behind Kirito, who was confused on my reaction. But I ignore him and whimper. "A player can't kill another player in a safe zone, but something else like a ghost could." The other three jolt a bit, as I whimper some more and Yoroko stood up, her eyes wide, filled with fear, "I couldn't sleep last night, so I stayed up thinking. It was everyone's fault! Everyone in the guild is guilty! Her blood is on all our hands! Her fate was sealed when that ring dropped! We shouldn't have voted! We should have done whatever Griselda told us to do!" Yoroko backed away towards the window, trapped in her thoughts, "Grimlock was the only one who said we should leave the decision to Griselda. He's the only one of us who can avenge Griselda. He's the only one with the right."

Schmitt started shaking, along with myself at the prospect of a ghost. I don't like ghosts! "You gotta be kidding. You gotta be kidding me! Why now? Why, after all this time, kill us now? You can't be ok with this Yoroko! You can't be ok with being killed over some stupid vendetta!" Kirito grabbed Schmitt's hand as he continued to freak out, before Yoroko jolted forward with a pained and shocked face. We all stare at her in horror as she turns after to reveal a knife sticking out of her back, before falling out the window. My husband rushes forward to the window as I let out a gasp.

"Yoroko!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Me: HELLO TO ALL! I bring you the next chapter! But first...**

 **Answer to reviews:**

 **Mushybooma, lol. I don't remember the lines, I rewatch it on Netflix. And yes, yes the boys were perverts.**

 **Anywho! Review and enjoy!**

Kirito ordered us to keep an eye on Schmitt before running after a cloaked figure on the roofs. But after a while, he returned with no avail. "What happened?"

"I lost him. He teleported somewhere. The system is supposed to protect players inside the inns. I thought if anywhere she'd be safe in here" Kirito cursed and pushed the wall. No damage of course, as we can't harm immortal objects.

"That robe was Griselda's" Schmitt muttered, shaking, "That was Griselda's ghost. She's come back to get revenge on us." I squeak and hide behind Asuna, who's closer to me than my husband. "Think about it. Only a ghost can PK someone in a safe zone." Asuna gave me a stern look, obviously trying to tell me to stop freaking out, but I refuse. You never know with my uncle! A lot of monsters have been based off my fears, at least it seems like it. I've been scared of ghosts ever since that one Halloween when I was ten!

"That wasn't a ghost. Someone's using the system to kill. That's the only way a murder could've happened in a safe zone. That has to be it!" Kirito said.

 _~Skippy!~_

We were sitting on a bench, me shaking a bit and clutching my husband's arm. 

"i don't know what to think" Asuna sighed, "Was that black robed figure Griselda's ghost? After seeing two people die mysteriously, I'm starting to think it's possible." I let out another whimper and tighten my grip.

"That couldn't have been a ghost. Why would a ghost need a teleport crystal?" Kirito glanced at me curiously, "And what's with you? You honestly believe the whole ghost thing?"

"As I told my subconscious, you never know with my uncle!" Cue strange looks from both my husband and Asuna, but I ignore them. "When I was ten, I was trick-or-treating with my uncle while my parents went to a party my mom's hospital was having. Uncle offered to take care of me instead of having them get a babysitter. Anyway, Uncle actually met someone he knew and they start talking. I still want more candy, cause I mean, come on, free candy, but he told me to be patient. Of course, I wasn't, so I wandered off by myself. And somehow, I ended up in a cemetery. You see where I'm going with this? So, yeah. I was a bit scared, but decided to brave through it. So, more than half-way across, I started hearing this moaning sort of thing. It was scary, but I figured it was just the wind, ya know. So I kept walking. But soon, I heard these footsteps right behind me. I turned, but there wasn't anyone there. The minute I started walking again, the footsteps were there again. I turned, but again, no one was there. I started walking a third time, but the moment the footsteps started I turned once more. But this time, I saw a tall figure right behind me. I couldn't see anything, as there was fog, but it scared the Hell out of me! So, I screamed and ran as fast as I could. And soon ran right into my uncle, who had been looking for me and heard from some neighbors that they saw me go into the cemetery. I was still freaked out, so when he asked me what was wrong, I kept stuttering and tripping over words, trying to drag him out of the place. Then I heard someone call my name from back where I ran away, and screamed again, leaving my Uncle behind. And I have been afraid of ghosts ever since!"

"But...Are you sure that was a ghost?" Asuna asked, obviously unbelieving.

"Of course it was a ghost! It knew my name and everything! What else could it have been, huh?!" I shout at her.

"The graveyard keeper, who was probably asked to help find you? Your uncle, whom you couldn't recognize? A concerned neighbor?"

"...It was a ghost, and that's that!" Asuna and Kirito sighed and shook their heads at me. "What?!"

"Anyway," Asuna takes out two wrapped sandwiches and holds them towards me and Kirito, "Here. You better eat it fast though. The durability is almost up."

I take a bit and happily eat. We didn't really have time to eat today, so we missed breakfast and lunch. "It's so yummy!"

"When did you find time to pick this us?" Kirito asked.

"I had a feeling we wouldn't have time to eat lunch today. So this morning I packed one for us. Hurry up and eat it, ok?"

"Gotta hand it to you, for a second in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath, you rock. Where'd you buy these anyway?" Kirito asked.

"I didn't. I made it." We give her a shocked look. I didn't expect her to have the time to boost her cooking skill, "Yes, I can cook. So what?"

"Wow" Kirito muttered, "I have no idea what to say. Mars is an awful cook. She even burns water! Some wife you are!" I let out a small growl and stomp on his foot, making him drop his sandwich, and he whines, "I was kidding!"

But then his sandwich shatters, the durability reaching zero, "Should've been eating instead of talking." My husband then falls to the ground, and I lean over, "Are you crying?" However, he just shushes me.

"That's it!" He shouts.

"What?" what did you just figure out?" Asuna asked curiously.

"I, no wait, _we_ , never saw a thing! We just thought we did! But we were really seeing something else! I was right! The game doesn't allow killing inside a safe zone! There's no weapon or system exploit! Kains and Yoroko weren't murdered at all. In fact, they never even died!"

"Wait, they're alive?!" I exclaim.

"Yep. Inside safe zones, a player's HP doesn't deplete on it's own. But the durability of an object will. Just like the sandwich. That day, the spear was sticking out of Kains' armor. It wasn't draining his HP though, it was draining the durability of his armor."

"But what about his body?" Asuna questioned.

"The moment his durability expired, poof, Kains used a crystal to teleport out of his armor. The effect looks a lot like what happens when a player dies in the game. But it's completely different."

"Then what happened to Yoroko?" I ask.

"I bet that dagger was already in her back the whole time she spoke with us. She had it all planned out. Remember, she didn't turn her back to us once. She kept an eye on her equipment's durability level while she was talking. When it got down to zero, all she had to do was act like she was hit by the dagger thrown from outside the window."

"But who was the person in the black robe?" Asuna asked.

"Probably Kains. They must've been in on it together. They used this method to fake their deaths. Making it look like a murder in a safe zone was a calculated twist."

"Everything they did was a ploy to draw out the one responsible for Griselda's murder and expose him" Asuna muttered in realization.

"The only way to make sure was to fake their deaths and create an illusionary avenger" I add, "Pretty devious actually…"

"Schmitt must've been the one they picked for it" Kirito said, before looking at Asuna, "Is Yoroko still on your friend's list?"

Asuna opened her window and entered her friends list, "Right now she's in the field on floor 19. It looks like she's on a small hill, just outside of town."

"Well that's it then. I guess they can handle it from here" Kirito sighed, "Nobody's dead so our job's pretty much done then."

I nod in agreement, before looking up at the stars for a moment, "Do you guys want to get some tea or something?"

"I could use some food" My husband muttered.

"That's what you get for insulting me."

"It was a joke!"

 _~Skippy!~_

"So we played right into Yoroko's hand, didn't we?" My husband said, "But you know what? I don't really mind."

"Ditto."

"Me neither." Asuna paused for a moment and looked at us, "If you were in a guild, and a super-rare item like that dropped, what would you have done?"

"I don't know" Kirito shrugged, "It's one of the reasons we play teamed, so we can avoid those situations."

"In my guild, he one who got the kill gets it. That's the rules we play by. You know how in SAO no one knows what item is dropped unless the person who earned it reports it? Our way, no one can hoard stuff because we worked out who gets what ahead of time."

"That's why I like the marriage system here. No one can keep secrets from their spouse, due to the shared inventory" I sigh happily, before narrowing my eyes suspiciously at my husband, "Right?" He sweatdrops, but nods frantically, so I go back to my dreamy thoughts.

Asuna smiles at me and Kirito, "I think the idea of marriage is very pragmatic and romantic."

Kirito tilted his head curiously, "Say Asuna...How many times have you been married?" To which Asuna grabs a fork and holds it threateningly at my husband's face, as he hurriedly waved his arms around, "Wait I didn't mean it like that! You were talking about how it's romantic and plastic and-"

"I didn't not say that, you moron!" Asuna shouted kicking his leg, while I sigh in exasperation.

"Why did I agree to marry an idiot…"

"I said it was romantic and pragmatic! And for your information, pragmatic means practical!"

"Marriage in SAO is practical?" Kirito asked.

"Of course! Honestly, why am I teaching you about marriage when _you're_ the one who's married here?!" 

"I just married her because I love her, not for any 'logical' reason…."

"At least he has the romantic part down" I sigh, before gaining a thought, "Wait a minute…" 

"What?" Asuna asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.

"Since spouses have a common storage, when one of them dies, everything goes to the living spouse, remember? And since the killer belonged to the guild, they knew Griselda was married to Grimlock, which means they also knew the item would go to him. So that means if they were after the ring, they would've had to kill both of them. Unless,"

"Unless Grimlock was the one who killed her" Kirito finished blankly.

 _~Skippy!~_

I rush through the forest with my night vision activated, hand on my sword to be ready. After figuring out Grimlock was the killer, we all raced to floor 19, Asuna and Kirito going to protect Yoroko, Kains, and Schmitt from red players Grimlock may have hired to kill them, just as we suspect he did with Griselda.

I reach a lone man walking through the forest and appear in front of him, my sword pointed towards his chest, "Grimlock, I presume." After a confirmation, I started to lead him towards the others, my sword at his back. The guy didn't even try to run or anything, but I suppose that may be because I used some of my flames, but not enough to melt my sword. "Found him."

"If you want to know more, you can ask the man himself" Kirito told the three, as they glare at Grimlock.

"Hello. Long time no see comrades" He greeted, almost pleasantly. Which I poke my sword at him lightly for. Lousy little b-

"I can't believe it," Yoroko muttered, "Did you, did you really plan this?" Tears gathered in her eyes while Kains tried to calm her down and Grimlock just stared, "How could you do this, Grimlock?! Answer me! Why did you kill Griselda?! Was it the money?! Was the money so important to you that you'd kill your own wife for it?!"

"Money?" Grimlock wondered aloud, "Did you say money?" He chucked a bit, which just ticked me off, so I poked harder this time, "It wasn't for the money. I had to. No matter what, I had to kill her while we were stuck in this world. I had to kill her while she was still my wife. And because she was also my wife in the real world." Well…That's, shocking... "In a way, she was the perfect wife. Ideal. So pretty, submissive. The whole time we were together we never had a single fight. But when we were trapped in here, in this world, she changed. In here, I was the one who was afraid, terrified of playing this death game. But she looked so much happier here, more alive than she ever did in the real world. There was nothing I could do about it. She changed. The Yuko I loved was gone. But then I realized I didn't have to live with the way she was, murder _is_ part of this game. If I couldn't have the Yuko I loved back, I'd settle for the memory of her! And who could blame me?"

"Everyone. Everyone could blame you" I exclaim. This sick psychopath!

"That's the reason?! That's the reason you killed your wife?!" Asuna shouted in anger.

"It's reason enough. And someday, you'll understand too. Once you've found love, believe me you'll do anything to keep it."

I pull my sword back and sheath it before making my way towards my own husband, "You're wrong Grimlock. You didn't love Griselda. You stopped loving her when you became selfish and possessive!" And I think that struck him hard, as he soon collapsed to his knees. Kirito make a move towards him, but stops when Kains and Schmitt walked forward.

"Thank you for your help, but I think this is our problem to deal with now" Kains said. My husband nods and the two men pick Grimlock up by the arms, starting to walk away. Yoroko gives us a bow, and we bow back before she follows after the men as the sun rises behind us. Kirito stretched out his arms before wrapping one around my shoulders.

"Hey," I start, making my husband look down at me, "What if that was us?" At his confused expression, I elaborate for him, "What if you found out I have a side to me that you don't know about? How would you feel?"

"Something you wanna tell me?" he grinned deviously, but I lightly smack his chest. "I don't know. Maybe lucky." Cue confused look from both me and Asuna, who was listening in, the nosey person she is, "Well, I love you the way you are already, and if I found out there was something more to you, then there'd just be another part I could love about you, ya know."

"Oh yeah, he _definitely_ has the romantic part of marriage down" Asuna laughed.

"Admit it, you're jealous" I joke as we start to head back. But Kirito grabs our arms and points back at the grave. Where the person I assume is Griselda was standing. I scream and jump into Kirito's arms. And Griselda's ghost lets out a silent laugh, before giving us a bow and disappearing. While I shake in my husband's arms, as he and Asuna gaped at the spot where Griselda was, "I told you! I freakin' told you!"

After a while of me muttering inchoately, Asuna starts talking, "Hey, Kirito, wanna friend me? I mean, it's convenient. We're on the same Assault Team and your wife is one of my best friends." Kirito seemed a bit reluctant, so Asuna slapped his shoulder, but smiled anyway, "Think about it while we get some food. I'm starving. And I think it may be best if we get little miss scaredy cat here, away from the grave."

"Shut up!" I whimper. But they just laugh. They're so mean to me!


	8. Chapter 8

**Me: Hi everyone! So, this chapter isn't as long as others since I want to keep the focus on Mars. I mean, I will have a few parts in ALO, which is later on (and revised as the only thing that happened with Asuna was she developed Princess Peach Syndrome and was practically raped by a creep), where it'll be Kirito's thoughts, but….yeah...Review and enjoy!**

 _ **June 24, 2024**_

I skip into the restaurant Asuna meets up with me and my husband often. After the two had friended one another, they've gotten along more, though they did have their fights every now and then. When I got there, Asuna and Kirito were talking hushedly, and stopped altogether when they noticed me. Suspicious…. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Nothing!" Kirito says quickly. Hmm…

"We're just talking about the floor boss. No biggie" Asuna tells me casually.

I narrow my eyes at them, before shrugging it off, "Well, in that case, can we keep those talks for the Assault Team meetings? I wanna hang out, not talk strategy."

"Actually, I have to go do something right now, so I'll let you two have a girl's night" Kirito said, standing up, before pecking my cheek, "I'll see you later, ok?" I nod, a bit confused, and watch him rush out the door. I look at Asuna, hoping she'd clear my confusion, but she just shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. Hey! Let's go shopping!"

 _~Skippy!~_

Me and Asuna had a fun time. She suggested we try to have a sorta modern Girls Night, and we ended up at a beauty parlor sort of place. It was funny seeing Asuna with pink hair. But as soon as she noticed why I was laughing, she demanded it be changed back to her normal red-brown. I made a point that she should try blue hair, like mine. But she shook her head and said blue hair wouldn't fit her.

After that failure, she insisted on teaching me how to cook, saying a woman must know how to in order to be a good wife. Which I felt insulted as I feel I'm a perfectly good wife without knowing. Besides, it's only in-game. In RL, I'm an amazing cook thanks to my mother. I just didn't train my cooking skill here, too busy fighting off monsters with my husband and everything. Anyway, as we headed to her house, a message window popped up from my husband. "Huh. Weird."

"What?"

"Kirito said he ran into a few problems and is going to be later than he hoped. But he said he'll be back by nightfall."

"Oh. I hope he's ok." 

"Ditto."

In the end, I gave up hope when it past midnight. In fact, I couldn't even sleep. I tried to find out where he was, but his server kept saying out of reach, which made me feel a tiny bit better, because it meant he wasn't dead. Yet. For all I know, he's extremely hurt and currently dying! Asuna stayed with me, as it turns out, her friends was also missing. At which point, she broke and said that Kirito wanted to meet with her friend to ask for something. But she didn't tell me what, just that it was important.

The next day, Kirito popped back up on Floor 48, along with Asuna's friend, so we immediately raced towards them. Asuna slammed the door open and jumped down the small staircase, crushing her friend to her chest, while I paused at the scene. Why was the pinkette looking at my husband like that? "Liz! I was so worried! Where were you last night?! I tried messaging you but you didn't answer, and I couldn't track you on the map!"

"I kinda got stuck in a dungeon" the pink haired girl answered.

"A dungeon?! Alone?!"

"No, I went with him" Liz explained, pointing at my husband, who Asuna just noticed. Still not happy about that girl eyeing my husband, but I decide to ignore it and focus on the fact that he's alive and well.

"KIRITO!" I shout happily, jumping onto my husband, and squeezing him to death, "Don't you ever scare me like that again! I was so worried! I couldn't even sleep and Asuna had to keep me company because I thought you were dying somewhere and I couldn't contact you and-"

"Hey, calm down Mars!" He begged, trying to make me loosen my grip, "Can't breathe!" I loosen only a tiny bit and let a relieved sob exit my mouth.

"Oh hey Kirito!" Asuna greeted with a sly smile, "Get what you wanted?"

"Hi Asuna. Yeah. You were right. She's a great blacksmith" Kirito smiled, but I give them a confused look.

"I don't understand. Why did you need a blacksmith? You have plenty of swords, and they all work perfectly well" I remark.

Kirito grinned, obviously proud of himself as he presented a new awesome-looking sword, "Ta-da! This is Dark Repulsor. I had it made for you."

"E-Eh?!"

"Well, your sword is nice and all, but it's getting too weak for high level dungeons, plus, this one was created with dragon-made metal. It's perfect for you, and it won't melt when you use full force flames!" Kirito said happily, "Though, I do admit, it's all thanks to Liz here. She's the one who made it. Liz, this is my wife, Mars." I turn to the pinkette, who looked rather upset. Oh boy. Another Silica….I look over at Asuna, who was smiling.

"And you were in on it, huh?"

"Duh! He asked me to keep you distracted for him. But, Kirito," My husband looked at Asuna curiously, "You didn't do anything weird to her, did you?!"

"O-Of course not!" 

"Why'd you stutter then?!"

"Were you flirting with her?!" I accuse.

"W-what?! What's up with you thinking I'm constantly cheating on you, huh?! After nine months of marriage, you still doubt me?!"

"I'm just teasing you. Why are you acting so defensive?" I let out a gasp, "You _were_ flirting with her!"

"I WAS NOT!" 

"LIAR!"

Me and Kirito continued arguing, while Asuna laughed, before turning to Liz, "He wasn't rude or flirting was he?" But she paused and looked at Liz curiously, making me and Kirito stop fighting and look over. "What's wrong?"

"You wanna talk about rude, try this. First thing he does when he comes in is shatter my best sword!" Liz exclaimed.

"What?! That's even worse than flirting! Kirito, how could you?!" I scold him.

"It was an accident! I was testing to see if it was a good sword for you! I don't want you going on the front lines with a weak sword!" I sigh and shake my head. Well, at least it was with my best interests, but he still shouldn't have done that. But then Liz asks Asuna to look over the shop for her and suddenly leaves.

"I think we may have interrupted something" Asuna muttered.

"You should go talk to her" I urge my husband, who looked a bit reluctant. "Go. Me and Asuna will watch the shop until you come back." He nodded and ran after the pinkette, and I sigh when he's gone, "Geez. How come that idiot has so many fangirls? First Silica, now Liz, who's next? Asuna?!" 

"Don't lump me in that!" she exclaimed, "And I don't exactly think it's their fault. I mean, maybe if I didn't know he was married to you, I might have fallen for him. He does have a lot of admiring traits after all. I think it may be the fact that he doesn't think to explain he's married."

"Idiot…"

"Yep."

I at least hope that's the last girl that gets caught up in his charms. I don't think I'd be able to handle too many lovestruck women. I'm jealous enough as it is.


	9. Chapter 9

**Me: Hey everyone! I'm back! Longer chapter this time! So, unfortunately, I'm in pain, as I feel a bit sick. And as I went to get my little brother something, I tripped over my baby sister's swing, breaking it and injuring multiple body parts….So yeah. I'm recovering and my puppy refused to leave my side since the accident, but I shall not bother you guys any further! Review and enjoy!**

 _ **October 17, 2024**_

I was spending the day with Asuna, as Kirito wanted to take a walk through the forest and hunt down some food for us. Asuna just helped me max out my cooking level, and I wanted to surprise Kirito with it, so I haven't exactly told him she's been teaching me. However…

"Does he have to follow us?" I whisper hushedly to my friend, glancing back at Kuradeel, who's been practically stalking us. "He gives me the creeps!"

"Unfortunately, it's new guild policy, so yes" She whispered back, and I sigh in despair. I check on Kirito's stats, and find that he's on Flloor 50 for some reason. "Why is he at Agil's shop?" I shrug and we make our way there to greet my husband. He was talking to Agil until Asuna tapped his shoulder. Kirito turned and the moment his eyes landed on Asuna, he grabbed her hands and looked extremely happy….What about me?!

"I've got my chef" he cheered.

"Chef?" Asuna muttered.

"Where's my hello?" I huff, crossing my arms. He just dragged me to his side and side-hugged me. "Not good enough…"

"Well that's not fair. After all the trouble I went to, to get us an amazing dinner for tonight." 

"What'dya catch?" I didn't bother checking our inventory when the alert popped up as I was busy with Asuna maxing my skill level. Kirito just opened our inventory and the message popped up in front of me. Making me squeal. "You got a Ragout Rabbit?!"

"What?!" Asuna shrieked excitedly, popping up beside me and looking at the window.

"Yeah. So what do you say? If you cook it for us, I'll give you a bite" Kirito teased her. She grabbed his coat and glared at him.

"I get one third. Deal?" Kirito nodded sadly, and Asuna cheered. 

"Sorry pal. Deal's off" My husband told Agil.

"What deal?" I ask him. He made a gesture to tell me later.

"But you can at least let me taste it, right?!" Agil begged, "I thought we were tight, man!"

"I'll write a review for you. But only two pages. Promise!" Kirito teased my psuedo big brother.

"That's cold" He whined. I laugh and wink at him on my way out.

"I'll save you some Agil."

"See?" he called out to my husband, "That's what caring friends do for each other!" But my husband just laughed at him as we walked away from the shop.

"So, where are we cooking?" Asuna asked curiously. Me and Kirito both pause, not having an answer. Kirito never bothered for a place with the kitchen when we rented our current home, because I was a failure at cooking, and he wasn't that good either. Which is why we almost always eat out, unless Asuna was nice enough to give us some of her own cooked food. Asuna sighed at our silence, "Well, I suppose we can use my place then. Mars has already been there, and it is a special ingredient we're using after all." She turned to creepy guy, "Thank you for escorting me. You may go."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't allow you to go home with such a shady character, even if Lady Mars is going with you." Yeah, since I usually meet up with Asuna at her guild, a lot of her own fanboys adapted to me as well, until the entire guild treated me with respect. I guess it's because I'm a powerful player, who isn't a beater like my husband. Heathcliff, the guild leader, is constantly trying to get me to join. I appreciate the thought and offer, but I'm fine with just being a duo team with my husband. However he refuses to give up. Though I do admit, he seems rather familiar.

"I don't know the extent of his shadiness, but I know he's quite skilled" Asuna said, and I sweatdrop, "In fact, he's ten levels above you."

"Are you implying that I'm inferior to this man?" Why yes, yes she is. "He's one of those beaters, isn't he?!"

"So what if I am?" Kirito glared at him.

Creepy Guy then stalked up to me and Asuna, "You shouldn't go with him, my ladies! All his kind care about are themselves! You can't expect anything good to come from scum like that!" A crowd gathered and I could hear some of them whispering as Asuna and Creepy Guy had a stare off.

"Listen. I am second in command and I am ordering you to go home" She said sternly, before stalking away.

"By the way, Kuradeel, I would refrain from speaking about my husband as such" I tell him, putting emphasis on 'my husband' and taking pride in the shocked look on his face. Our real relationship isn't well known, which i never understood but I can't say I'm complaining. I spin on my heel and grab my husband's arm, before following after Asuna to her home on Floor 61.

"Wow!" Kirito admires the floor area, "This place is amazing!"

"If you like it so much, why don't you move here?" Asuna asked curiously.

"It seems a bit out of our price range" He muttered.

"You're just a scrouge" I snort.

"That's not nice!" He whined, "Anyway, what's up with that guy back there? He was mad-dogging me like crazy!"

"He's just my bodyguard. The guild's new policy says all higher ups need to have an escort. It's lame. The guild didn't have these rule regulations before. We used to be really small. But then, more and more people joined up. After that, when we became the strongest guild, everything started getting weird. But I'm probably making a bigger deal than it already is. Anyway, we should hurry. It's going to get dark soon."

"Ok. But why was he acting protective of my own wife too?" Kirito questioned, obviously ticked that the guy suggested he would treat me badly.

"Apparently, I'm a honorary member, since I come over all the time. Their leader has even been asking me to join constantly. But I always say no because I don't want to leave you and I know you won't join." Kirito tilted his head and a thoughtful looked passed over his face, before going away as we reach Asuna's house.

"Wow. What a killer pad" Kirito muttered as we enter her house. I've already been here, so I don't really care. "How much did all this cost?"

Asuna thought for a moment, "The room and the furniture costed around four million Col. Anyway, make yourself at home." She moved to another room, probably to change out of her uniform, as I take off my cape and lounge in one of her chairs.

"I'm sure we've got that much Col, but blowing it all on this?" He muttered to himself, as I moved from my chair to his lap after he sat down.

"Why not take off your coat, instead of contemplating lifestyles?" I suggest, snuggling up to him. He took my advice as Asuna came in, eager to start cooking.

"Hey Mars, why don't you help me?" She asked with a sly grin. Kirito frowned.

"Uh, how about no? I doubt I'll ever catch something like this again, and I don't want to waste it!" I grab his ear and pinch hard as he shouts in pain.

"What was that?" I ground out, glaring at my insulting husband.

"I'm sorry!"

"Good. Now eat your words!" I huff stalking to the kitchen, with Asuna laughing behind me. I take the rabbit out of our inventory and it appears on the counter.

"So this is a legendary S-class ingredient" Asuna said happily, her eyes filled with awe. "So how should we cook it?"

"I thought I'd leave that decision up to the chef" Kirito waved her off, so she turned to me.

"I say we make a stew" I offer, eager to prove my husband wrong.

"Good idea. You make the stew, and I'll start the sides" Asuna said, moving to another counter. "Consider this your final test."

"Alright! I won't let you down!"

"I'm confused…"

I make a knife appear in my hand and lightly tap the large piece of meat. It glows before turning into a bunch of chopped pieces, then I do the same to the other ingredients. I place all the ingredients into the pot Asuna gave me, while my husband watches curiously.

"In real life, there'd be a lot more steps involved. But cooking in SAO is so simple, that it's boring" Asuna said as I place the pot into the oven for 25 minutes.

Soon dinner is done, so me and Asuna set out the table and plate everything. Kirito was a bit surprised when he didn't die after the first bite of the stew. And those were his exact words. Needless to say, I slammed my foot into his leg for that, and told him he's sleeping on the floor tonight.

"So that's what you two have been doing all this time? You've been teaching my wife how to cook?"

"Yep! She maxed it out earlier today, and I maxed mine last week."

"So, that means...No more eating out!" Kirito cheers. I roll my eyes at him.

"I've been in SAO for two years and that's the first time I've tasted S-class food" Asuna sighed happily, after we all finished the delicious dinner. "I'm so happy I survived long enough to eat that."

"Ditto" I remark.

"It's kinda weird, but sometimes, I don't know. I get this feeling like I've lived here my entire life. You ever feel like that?" Asuna asks, and I nod in agreement.

"Almost all the time. In fact, there's days when I don't even think about the real world at all" My husband said, "And it's not just me. these days more and more people don't seem to care about clearing the game and getting back to the real world."

"We've spent so much time here, that people have lost hope of returning and just adapted" I add in. "I do admit though, there are days where I enjoy life here more than back home. But then I remember my family and old friends. In fact, I'm really worried about them. I haven't seen them at all since this game started."

Asuna smiled softly at me, "I'm sure they'll pop up somewhere. Maybe they're some of the people who've adapted. In fact, I've noticed there aren't as many people fighting on the front lines anymore. Maybe only 500, if that. Others don't care anymore. But I want to go back. I mean, there's things I haven't done yet, so I have to."

"And when you stop to think about it," Kirito started, "There's everyone else. All those people who count on us. If we give up, it's not fair to them."

"So, Mars, Kirito," Asuna looks at me curiously, "Why don't you guys join any guilds? Ever since we've hit Floor 70, the monsters have been getting hard, along with the algorithms. It'd be more safer to have a guild guard your backs, wouldn't it?"

"We have each other" Kirito waved her off, "We're perfectly fine. Especially since Mars has her unique skill. A lot of monsters aren't fire-proof, you know."

"Still. What if one of you gets hurt and the other can't help? I'm just telling you this as a concerned friend, ok?"

"Yeah, sure. But still, in my opinion, party members just get in the way" Kirito said, obviously without thinking.

"Excuse me?!" I exclaim, crossing my arms with a glare, as Asuna flicks a knife towards him. Kirito seems to realize his mistake and waves his hands around.

"That came out wrong! You two are obviously the exceptions of course! Why would I include my permanent party member in that?! I'm not that much of an idiot!"

"So you finally admit you're an idiot, then?" Asuna smirked.

"Uh…."

"Say, why don't I team up with you guys again?" Asuna suggests, "Black and purple are my lucky colors this week, after all." Of course, Kirito was against it, for some odd reason.

"What?! But, but you have stuff you need to do for your guild?! You can't just bail on them!" He argued as Asuna twirled the knife in her hand.

"It's not like we have any leveling quotas to meet" She said casually, "Besides, Mars is my best friend and I wanna party up with her, which, ergo, includes you too."

"What about your bodyguard?"

"I'll just ditch him. I do that anyway, it's no biggie." Kirito huffed and was about to drink his tea, when he realized it was empty. Asuna smirked and poured some more for him, before opening her window and sending a party invitation to him. I give him a puppy pout, which he turns to avoid, knowing he can't resist.

"The front lines are dangerous-" And then Asuna shoves the glowing knife in front of his face again at top speed. He sweatdrops and quickly presses the accept button. I cheer as Asuna sends me an invitation as well.

"This is going to be so fun!"

 _ **October 18, 2024**_

I was picking up Asuna, as usual, only to see her running straight my way. "Uh, what's going on?"

"He was at my house!" She shouted, trying to catch her breath.

"Uh, who?"

"Kuradeel, that's who! You weren't wrong when you said he was a creepy stalker! I wake up and head outside, to see him standing right at my door! Turns out he's been there for three hours already!"

"My lady!"

Asuna shrieks and grabs my hand before dragging my to the teleportation platform, "Teleport, Calmdet!" We instantly teleport, only due to our running nature, our journey was unstable and we flew forward. I ended up smashing into my husband, sending both of us to the ground, and Asuna rolled on the ground. Normally, it wouldn't have been too much of a problem. Except his face was right at my chest and one hand was on one of my breasts….

The idiot couldn't even tell what it was! He felt it up and everything! I know we're married, but the most we've done was make-out on our bed! I punch him in the face, sending him flying back into a pillar. I swear if they weren't immortal objects, a lot of things he's crashed into would be smashed. "Pervert!"

"Wha….Oh," He muttered, realized what had landed on him and what he was touching before. But he just shrugged it off! "Well, I don't see the problem. We're married after a-" I grab his coat and shake him repeatedly.

"Pervertpervertpervertpervert!" However, I stop when Asuna squeaks and hides behind me and Kirito.

"What's wrong?" he asked, before the teleportation platform glowed and Creepy Guy was standing there!

"Why are you behaving like this ma'am? I'm only following orders" He said, spotting Asuna behind us, "Please, let's go back to headquarters."

"I won't! Especially not with you! And why were you lurking around my house this morning, huh?!" Asuna growled as Kirito jolts in surprise.

"You have a bad habit of leaving without any warning, so for the past month my mission has been to keep an eye on you in Selmburg."

"What? Who ordered this?" She demanded, "It wasn't the commander!"

"With all due respect, ma'am, my mission is to guard you. No matter where you are, including your home."

"You mission is to guard her, not stalk her! There's a difference, idiot!" I shout at him. Creepy Stalker Guy sighed and walked off the platform towards us.

"I wish you both would understand. But, we must return to headquarters" CSG said, grabbing Asuna's hand and practically trying to drag her away against her will. So me and Kirito grab his own wrist.

"Sorry, but we're borrowing your second-in-command for the day. So you'll just have to make due without her" Kirito told him sternly, as CSG lets go of Asuna, "I'll take responsibility for her security. Besides, it's not like we're going on a boss raid. You can go. She'll be fine with me and Mars."

"You insolent punk! Do you know who I am? I am a member of the glorious Knights of the Blood Oath! A low level player couldn't protect her, or Lady Mars!"

"I told you not to insult my husband, Kuradeel!"

"I refuse to accept this, this beater as your spouse!" He exclaimed.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing your opinion doesn't matter here" I retort.

"In any case, I can still protect them better than you ever could." I get the feeling that my husband is purposely egging him on. It wouldn't surprise me. He's always taken offence to people who question our marriage. I think it's a pride thing.

"You've got a big mouth, kid. So I'm going to give you a chance to prove just how tough you really are." CSG sent Kirito a duel invitation, and he looks at me and Asuna, who both nod. Show him what you've got, babe!

"I'll be telling the commander how this happened" Asuna said. And so, Kirito accepted the duel, while me and Asuna stayed back to watch, along with the crowd that was slowly forming as the prospect of the infamous beater Kirito fighting a member of the KOB.

And as soon as it began, it ended, with Kirito breaking CSG's sword with one blow. "Great job sweetheart!"

Kirito sheathed his sword and looked back at CSG, "If you want to try again with another weapon, I'll be glad to take you on. Or we could call it a day." However, CSG didn't take his loss very well and immediately came at my husband with another weapon. But I intervened, Dark Repulsor flaring up as I swipe at his weapon, sending it flying, while CSG gets a small taste of my flames.

"Don't touch my Shadow" I glare at him harshly as Asuna comes over with a disappointed and stern expression. Though CSG seems to ignore that as he goes on to complain to Asuna.

"Lady Asuna! I don't know how but he cheated! You saw how he destroyed my sword! He must've used some kind of trick! There's no other way I could've lost to a pathetic beater like him!" I snarl at him and Repulsor flares up once more, my flames being affected by my anger.

But Asuna was just calm throughout, "Kuradeel, as second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood Oath, I'm relieving you from your duties as my bodyguard. You are to return to headquarters and wait for further orders."

"Y-you can't be serious!" He stuttered, before glaring accusingly at Kirito, who met his gaze evenly. However, CSG couldn't argue with his commanding officer and soon left, albeit reluctantly. 

Asuna sighed and turned to us, "I'm sorry for dragging you both into that."

"It's no big deal" Kirito waved her off.

"But are you ok?" I ask worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The guild's getting on my nerves is all. Maybe because I've been so focused on clearing the game. Or maybe because I'm so demanding of the other members."

"I understand. But you didn't have much of a choice," Kirito remarks, "If you've done things any different, you think your guild would've gotten as far as they have? But what do I know? I'm just a duo team player. Still. If you wanna take the day off and hang out with us, then that's your decision. No one's got the right to complain. Screw them."

Asuna gave us a sly smirk, "Well thank you for your opinion on the subject. So, I'll accept your offer and I'll be taking the day off from guild. You can play forward today." She took my arm and pulled me with her, while my husband stuttered and I laughed.

"W-wait a minute! Aren't we supposed to take turns playing forward?!"

"Sorry, it's my day off! And as such, I'm reprieving Mars from her duties as your partner!"

"Oh come on~!" He whined, running after us as we laughed at him.

 _~Skippy!~_

The three of us made our way through the dungeon, running into monsters left and right as we search through. Kirito was leading us, as usual, when Asuna pointed at something, "Look!" Further down the hall, were two large doors, "Is that what I think it is?" We rush towards the doors and examine them.

"Probably" Kirito answers.

"We've found the boss room" I say in awe.

"What do we do? Should we look inside?" Asuna asks curiously.

Kirito answered her as our leader, "Well we came all this way. Besides, boss monsters never leave the room that they guard. I think we'll be ok if we just take a peek. But have a teleport crystal ready, just in case." Asuna takes out her own crystal, while Kirito hands me one. "You ready?" Me and Asuna nod, before we slowly push the doors open. We take a few steps inside the pitch black room. At least, it was pitch black, until blue fire flared up on torches and a large monster called The Gleam Eyes was revealed. It looked like a cross between a minotaur and a goat, with a viper tail….

My uncle loves torturing me, doesn't he?


	10. Chapter 10

**Me: So, we** _ **were**_ **supposed to go to the dentist today, but** _ **mother**_ **lost the car keys so we had to reschedule.** _ **Again**_ **! Oh well. Review and enjoy!**

The large demon goat-taur snorts angrily and lifts it's weapon in the air. So we did what any brave, fearless warriors such as ourselves would do. We all screamed and ran out of the room as fast as we could, not stopping until we were at least halfway towards the entrance. We all collapsed against a structure, gasping for breath.

"That one's gonna be tough to beat" Asuna sighed.

"Yeah" Kirito agreed.

"And he only had that one sword, but man was it huge! And I'm positive it has special attacks" I add.

"We're gonna have to put tanks in the front row and keep switching out just to wear it down" Asuna said.

"And it wouldn't hurt to have about 10 shield users" my husband remarked.

"Shield users, huh?" Asuna narrows her eyes at Kirito, who asked what was wrong. "You're hiding something, aren't you? I just realized something. The biggest advantage of using a one-handed sword is being able to use a shield too. But I've never seen you with one. I don't use a shield because it'll slow down my rapier, others don't because they think it looks dumb, and Mars doesn't because she has all those special fire attacks that only she has, for some reason. But you, I have no idea. So, what is it?" My poor husband gave me a pleading look, and I just shrugged. They already know about my fire, I think they'll be fine with his unique skill. Besides, Asuna's our friend. She won't mind. "Oh nevermind. It's rude to ask people to justify their skills." Kirito let out relieved sigh, "Since it's so late out, why don't we have lunch here?"

"I brought the food!" I tell them happily. Me and Asuna have decided to alternate lunch, so today is my day to bring the sandwiches and she said she'd bring the sauces.

"You made it yourself?!" Kirito asked excitedly. It's the first time he's been excited for my food since before he knew I was a horrible cook! I'm so happy! I nod, opening our inventory.

"But you better take off your gloves before you eat" I order, as Asuna takes out a box filled with sauces she's made over the years, and helps me top the food with them.

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted, before unequipping his gloves. I hand him and Asuna their sandwiches, "So good! How'd you get it to taste so amazing?!"

"Asuna's sauces and recipes she's shared with me."

"Chalk it up to a whole year of training and study" She said proudly, showing off the different recipes she created. "Aincrad has everything you need. There's about a hundred different seasonings. I made everything just by calculating all the parameters used by the flavor-recreation engine." She holds up a bottle of green liquid, "This was made with grogua seed, shugra leaf, and calim water." She placed a drop on Kirito's hand and he tasted it.

"It's mayonnaise" He said in surprise. She offered some to me, but I refused.

"I hate mayonnaise…"

"Eh?"

"Why?" my husband asked curiously, and looking as though I insulted him.

"My friend had given me lice, and my mom made me wash my hair with mayonnaise because that's what Nana did with her when she was younger. I had to go around the house with it in my hair for three hours, before she said I could wash it out. It took me five washes just to get rid of the smell. Ever since then I've hated mayonnaise."

The two blink and slowly nod before moving on, "Anyway, I made this one with abilba seed, sag leaves, and ulafish bone." This time she forced the liquid in my hand, and Kirito tasted it eagerly.

"W-woah! That tastes exactly like," I take a taste and happily note the familiar nostalgic taste.

"Soy sauce" I finish happily.

"Have you thought about selling this, cause you'd make a fortune!" my husband said eagerly. Asuna looked proud, until Kirito paused, "Wait, you can't sell it!"

"W-why not?!"

"Because then there wouldn't be any left for me and Mars!" he whined, and I nod in agreement.

Asuna stared at us, an eye twitching before she sighed in exasperation, "You're so greedy...If you like it that much I can always just make more for you guys."

"Yay!" I cheer happily, until a group enters the area, making me and the other two instantly on alert. Only to find it a group of tired players. The one, obviously the leader, noticed us and grinned at my husband for some reason.

"Hey, Kirito! How you doin' buddy?" Kirito relaxed as the guy made his way over.

"Hey Klein. Still alive, huh?" Oh! So this is Klein! Kirito told me about him. He and Klein met the first day and have kept in touch every now and then. Apparently, he's also on the Assault Team, but I've never actually met him. And knowing Kirito, I doubt he'd told him about our marriage. Though he may know who I am.

"Well aren't you the same as ever" Klein laughed.

"You can say that again" I add humorously. Kirito gives me a fake glare and I stick my tongue out at him.

"Hey, wait a minute! I thought you wanted to be solo, why are you hanging out with a couple of...girls…" And for some reason, I think he broke.

"I could've sworn you've met at one of the boss fights" My idiotic husband remarked. "Well, Klein, this is Asuna of the KOB, and this is Mars, or you might know her as the Flame Queen." But then Kirito noticed his broken friend and waved a hand in front of him, "Hey, what's wrong? You lagging?" But then the red-head instantly bowed and struck his hand out to me.

"H-Hi! I'm Klein! I'm 24, and single, and looking for a-" However, Kirito, the possessive husband he is, punches his own friend in the gut, sending him flying back. And he teases me about _my_ jealous nature? Instantly, Klein's group of guild members surround us in a half-circle, with Kirito standing in front of me protectively.

However, the guys just gain eager expression and say in union, "Wow! Are you really that Mars?!" Kirito tries to hold them back away from me and I step back towards Asuna, who was laughing at my misfortune. Why couldn't she have been more popular? Is it because of my unique skill?

"H-hey it's cool. These guys are ok" Kirito tried to assure me, as they tried to get past him. "Yeah, but, I don't know about Klein." Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Klein instantly stomps on my husband's foot, "What the heck?!"

"That's payback, you weasel!" The continue to argue and I can't help but laugh with Asuna. They stop for a moment, and look at me, before Klein grabs my husband and tries to have a whispering conversation, which I could hear perfectly.

"Excuse me," I interrupt them as Kirito tried, and failed, to explain our relationship, "It's a pleasure to officially meet you. My husband here has told me so much about you."

"HUSBAND?!" The entire group of men exclaim, before Klein started exclaim, "Kirito, how could you keep this from me?!"

"I-uh, well-"

However, before he could say anything else, loud marching could be heard from further away. Asuna positions her hand on her rapier, "Guys." We all look over to see a group of armed players marching towards us. "It's an army…"

"That's the big guild that runs floor one. What are they doing up here?" Klein wondered.

"They were almost slaughtered on Floor 25. Instead of clearing levels they've been trying to build up their numbers. I haven't seen them on the front lines in a while" Asuna remarked. The leader stopped and turned to the group, stating for them to be at ease. Instantly, the entire group of men collapsed from exhaustion. Those poor players…

The leader then makes his way over to us, "I'm with the Aincrad Liberation Army, Lieutenant Colonel Corvatz."

"Kirito and Mars. Duo Team."

"Have you cleared the area up ahead?"

"Yeah. We also got a map with directions to the boss room."

"Right. Then hand over that map and we'll be on our way" He demanded. Jerk. As if.

"You want us to just give it to you?! Do you know how much of a pain mapping is?!" Klein exclaimed. Couldn't have said it better myself. Besides, these guys are in no condition to fight.

"We share our information and resources with civilians equally, and we don't charge a thing for it! We maintain order in the chaos of battle, so that all players can leave this world as quickly as possible! Therefore, it's your duty to cooperate with us! So hand over that map!"

"Listen you," Asuna started, but Kirito held a hand up.

"When we got back to town, I was going to go public with the map anyway. We also share our information, so it's no big deal" Kirito shrugged, opening his window. However, I grab his hand and force him to close it, "Hey!"

"If he wants the map that badly, he can wait just like everyone else!" I say sternly. Before Corvatz can argue, as it looked like he was going to, I take Dark Repulsor out and keep it in front of his face, "If you have a problem with that, you can fight me for it. But I'm not called the Flame Queen for no reason." To prove as such, I light Repulsor on full blast, the flames flaring up. However, my husband, the idiot he is, had sent the map over when I was busy with the guy! "Kirito!"

"We don't make money off the map, remember?"

"It's not a matter of money!" I exclaim as Corvatz accepts the data, "It's a matter of people like him are careless and stupid!" Corvatz ignores me and starts to head off towards the boss room, "See?! He and his men are going to be slaughtered!"

"She right" Kirito argues, obviously noticing the same now. He needs to be more observant towards people's personalities…Or just listen to me like a good husband. "We just took a look in that room. You can't fight the monster half-dead. Look at them! They're exhausted!"

But the stubborn man just argued back, "Nonsense! My men are tougher than that! They won't quit until I say so! On your feet! Come on! Move!" And reluctantly, the men all stand up and follow after their stupid commander.

"Those guys are going to be ok, right?" Klein asked.

"I'm sure they're smart. They won't rush the boss without a second thought" Asuna said, though she didn't sound very sure of herself.

"Are you kidding? They're goners. Let's go save their asses" I command, moving forward.

"Well, well, look who's taking charge" Kirito teased, and I instantly freeze.

"On second thought, let's do what Kirito says. What's your opinion?" I ask hurriedly. I don't wanna risk them with my bad luck.

He just laughed at my behavior, "Let's go just make sure those guys'll be ok." He and the others moved ahead and I happily took the back. However, Klein stopped me for a moment.

"Say, Mars. Look, I have a favor to ask. I know he's inarticulate, and he's an idiot who's addicted to combat, but take care of Kirito for me, will ya? It's kinda obvious he's in love with you."

"You don't even have to ask. I've been taking care of him for more than a year" I assure Klein. I'm glad my husband has a good friend like him.

 _~Skippy!~_

"That's the last one. Only thing left is the boss's room. Maybe those guys used some kind of teleportation device to go back" Klein suggested, after we killed another monster. I hum in thought. I doubt it. That Corvatz guy was way too overconfident

However, everyone was jumped when a loud scream echoed through the air. Kirito gave me a sharp look, "Mars!" I nod and we instantly rush towards the boss room, leaving the others behind, ignoring their shouts.

"Those idiots!" I exclaim as we reach the room.

"Hey!" Kirito called out for them, "You guys ok?!" But it was obvious they weren't. There were around four men down, and who knows how many had died already. "Don't just stand there! Use your teleport crystals!"

"We can't! The crystals aren't working!" One guy shouted with fear in his voice.

"There's never been a trap like this in a boss' room before!" I exclaim as Gleam Eyes throws another hit. I glance at my husband, who looked to be in a sort of trance. Wait. Didn't he tell me that this is sort of what happened to our….Oh dear.

"The Aincrad Liberation Army doesn't know the word retreat! Come on! Keep fighting!" Corvatz orders.

"You idiot! This is suicide! You're all going to die if you keep fighting!" I shout at him, anger filling my being. That selfish b-

"What's going on?!" Asuna exclaims, rushing up beside us with Klein.

"They can't use their teleportation crystals," Kirito explained, "We could distract the boss, but going in there is too risky."

"But isn't there something we can do?" Klein asked hurriedly. Corvatz yelled for them to charge, and Kirito shouted for them to stop. Gleam Eyes slammed his weapon towards the group, and hit Corvatz, who was sent flying near us.

"Hang on Corvatz" My husband said, rushing over and kneeling in front of him. Corvatz's helmet shattered, before his body followed. I stare at where Corvatz was with wide eyes. That idiot….Why couldn't he have listened, instead of worrying about his damn pride?! And now his army is going to follow! A scream snapped me out of my thoughts and I look ahead to see a man cowering away as Gleam Eyes slowly made it's way towards him. Maybe, maybe I could….

Forgoing my own safety, I grab Dark Repulsor and rush inside, lighting my beloved sword on fire, my anger fueling it. I ignore the shouts from my husband and our friends, focusing only on fighting the damn monster. I slam Repulsor into Gleam Eye's back three times, before the monster pushes me back and slams its fist at me. I land on the ground, my HP depleting some from the attack, before seeing Gleam Eyes about to stab me with it's sword. However, before it can, Kirito appeared in front of me and deflected the attack enough for it to miss. "Get out!"

But I just grab Repulsor and run forward again, "As if I'm leaving you, idiot!" He slices Gleam Eyes' back before it can harm the others, who were helping the army escape.

"That wasn't a request!" He shouted, pushing me away from the monster's sword can harm me. Asuna caught me before I could hit the ground from the force. My husband flips back, and looked contemplating.

"Just use it, you idiot! If you die, I'm never forgiving you!" I shout at him, as Asuna prevented me from helping, "Let me help him!" 

"You're too weak! You HP is already at yellow!" Oh. I didn't see that. However, I ignore it and escape Asuna' grip, deflecting the blow from my husband.

"Klein, Asuna, I need ten seconds! Keep him off me!" He shouted, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the monster with him. Klein and Asuna switch in while Kirito enters our inventory. I follow example, only I take out some HP replenishers, while he activated his Dual-Blades. "Ok, I'm ready! Switch out!" As long as he uses his unique skill set, I can focus more on the injured players. I trust my husband to take care of himself with that. But I'll still be on alert of course.

"W-what kind of skill is that?!" I overhear Klein exclaim as I listen to the sound of my husband quickly attacking the monster with both swords. I raise the HP of the red-zoned players and help Klein's guild move them further away. Soon, though, I glance over to see my husband give one last slice at Gleam Eyes, before it shatters. I smile happily, until my husband fall back, unconscious.

"Kirito!" I gasp and rush over to him, taking a look at his HP. It's even lower than the army men! I open our inventory hurriedly and take out a potion, forcing it down his throat. A few seconds later, he slowly blinks his eyes open, and sits up, holding his head.

"My head" He whined softly. Then he noticed the other players around us, most of them staring in awe and shock. I wipe my eyes, which had tears in them, "That was too close. How long was I out?"

"Just a few seconds. You reckless idiot!" I sob, flinging myself at him.

"Geez, don't hug me so hard. I almost died, you know…" I hit his chest weakly as I continue to cry on his shoulder.

"Corvatz and two of his men are the only ones who didn't make it" I heard Klein explain.

My husband sighed, "We haven't lost a player in a boss fight since Floor 67."

"That wasn't a boss fight, that was suicide. Corvatz was a fool." That's what I said, "There's no point to any of this if you die! And you're not off the hook either! What the heck did you do just now?!"

"I don't think you wanna know…"

"Oh come on! I've never seen anything like that before!"

Kirito was silent for a moment, before I felt him look away, "It's an extra skill I picked up. Dual-wielding."

"Dude are there prerequisites?!" Klein questioned eagerly, as the others murmur at the reveal.

"So that's what you were hiding!" Asuna exclaimed.

"Yeah, but if I knew the requirements, I'd have already shared it by now."

I hear someone open a window and scroll, before Klein said, "It's not on the info-brokers skill list. It must be exclusive to you. Hey you got a unique skill! Way to stay on the down-low Kirito! How could you keep such an awesome secret like this from your buddies?"

"About six months ago, I was scrolling through my skill menu, and it was just there. But, if anyone else found out I had a skill like this,"

"They'd get upset because you had something they didn't" Asuna finished for him.

"Some gamers are like that, but not me. You're right, though. People would definitely be jealous you had that. And you'll be gaining a few haters when they find out you married their celebrity crush" Klein teased.

"It's not like it was a secret or anything. It's just we don't bother telling people. Plus I thought it'd be obvious since we're always together" Kirito muttered.

"Hey, wait a second" Asuna started, "Unique skills. Mars is the only one I know that has that fire magic. Does that mean it's only for her like your Dual-wielding?" 

I felt Kirito shrug as I sniffle, my tears slowing down, "I suppose. She found it in her menu months ago and just started testing it out. Soon her fanboys just started calling her the Flame Queen since she used it so often. It's called Fire Soul Sword."

"That's pretty cool. Anyway, we're going to go trigger the warp gate. You coming?"

"No. We'll catch up later. I need to rest for a moment." 

"I understand," Klein said. I hear him start to walk away before stopping, "By the way, when you ran in there to save those army guys, well, you know, I'm glad you did. That's all. See ya."

"I'm going to go with them to give you two some privacy. I'll be back soon" I hear Asuna say, before walking after the men.

It was silent between me and my husband for a moment, before he broke the silence, "What's wrong Mars?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong is that your an idiot! I was so scared you were going to die! I didn't what I was going to do!"

"What are you talking about? You were the one who ran in first" He said with a teasing tone.

"It's not funny! Don't ever do that to me again! You can't leave me here alone, Kirito!"

"Hey, calm down" He shushed, rubbing my back a bit, "I'm not ever going to leave you. Ok?" I sniffle a bit, and we were quiet for a while. Until Asuna skipped back inside and clapped her hands.

"Alright! You two done? Yeah? Ok! So, I've decided that I'm going to take a leave of absence from my guild!" She declared. I move back slightly to look at her.

"And do what exactly? Sleep all day?" Kirito teased.

"I'm going to ignore that because you almost died saving all of us" She said, annoyance in her tone, "Anyway. I said I was going to party with you guys for a while, remember?"

"Oh yeah" Kirito muttered, "But only for a few days at least. Our anniversary is coming up, so we're going to take a break soon."

"It is?" I ask curiously. I completely forgot. Kirito grinned mischievously.

"Isn't it the guy that's supposed to forgot?" And then Asuna slapped the back of his head. "Hey! It was a joke!"

 _ **October 19, 2024**_

Me and Kirito were in Agil's shop, with Liz taking care of our equipment while my husband sulked. Someone had blabbed to people about our skills and relationship, and it was all over the news. And Klein was right in the fact that a lot of my fans hate him now….

"'A blue demon that annihilated a big squad of army guys, and a fifty-hit combo from a dual-wielder who took out the boss by himself, while his fire wielding wife took care of the living army members.' I can't believe what a huge deal they're making out of this!" Agil said, reading the page.

"Yeah, it's blowing up right in my face" Kirito muttered, "A buttload of swordsmen and info-brokers showed up at our place this morning. Now we need a new pad because they know where we live!"

"Some of my fans came up to Kirito and threatened him for, and I quote, 'taking me away from them'. And look at this page! It's filled with rubbish about our marriage! Look at this one! 'That dirty beater trick our beloved Flame Queen into marrying him so he could take advantage of her!' I mean, come on!" I shout, crumpling the paper up and setting it on fire.

"Well, isn't all of this your fault?" Liz teased, coming in with our equipment. "You said your skillset was going to be our little secret but you went and blabbed it to everyone." Kirito huffed and I laughed at him.

However, rushed footsteps turn our attention to the door, where an obviously angry Asuna appeared, "Hey guys! We have a bit of a problem we need to take care of!"

 _~Skippy!~_

"And it's a pleasure to see you once again, Lady Mars" Heathcliff greeted. As soon as Asuna explained that her leader wouldn't let her leave, we headed towards the KOB headquarters to talk with him.

"Hello Heathcliff. I wish it was under different circumstances." Despite his tough exterior, Heathcliff was a kind man. At least to me. I don't know about other people.

"Me as well. I was hoping you were here to join our guild, only to find out that's not the reason at all. And it's wonderful to meet you, Kirito. You wife has told me much of you. Outside of boss fights, I don't believe we've ever actually met."

"Well there was the conference on Floor 67. We talked a little bit there, Commander Heathcliff" Kirito said, looking a bit ticked at the man. I don't understand what's wrong though. He just want more members to help defeat the game. Still. After all the work Asuna has done for him, I have to admit, it's a bit unfair for him to not allow her a small leave.

"Yes, that was a difficult battle. We almost lost a few players there too. We may be the top guild but we barely get by with the number of troops we already have. And now here you are, trying to poach one of our best players. I don't know what to say.

"If she's that important, maybe you should do a better job picking your bodyguards" Kirito huffed. I step on his foot with a small glare, quietly telling him to be respectful.

"You have my sincerest apologies for any trouble you might have had with Kuradeel. But you must understand that we simply cannot allow our second-in-command to leave the guild just like that."

"Oh come Heathcliff. It's not like it'll be forever. It's just a few days. Five, at the least" I tell him, trying to ease him off.

Heathcliff eyed my husband for a moment, "If you want our second in command, you must use your dual blades to take her from us. If you can defeat me in combat, you'll be free to take Asuna with you. On the other hand, if you lose, you will join the Knights of the Blood Oath."

"You just want a chance to fight him" I mutter, knowing Heathcliff. I may not be in his guild, but I know he's one of the strongest players out there. It's probably manly pride or something. Plus, I'm sure Heathcliff knows that if Kirito joins, I'll follow. The only reason I didn't accept to join was because I know Kirito's feelings on guilds.

"Yeah, ok. If you want to settle this with swords, that's fine with me. We'll have ourselves a duel then."


	11. Chapter 11

**Me: 'ELLO! (Mars: It's** _ **hello**_ **) Oh! HELLO! Welcome back to my story! I present for your approval chapter 11! Review and enjoy!**

 _ **October 20, 2024**_

"How many times do we have to call you an idiot, huh?!" Asuna yelled at my husband. He and Heathcliff were going to duel today in the coliseum, and it's been turned into a huge deal by other players. It was filled to the brim here, people placing bets and buying tickets just to get in. "Why would you agree to a duel?!"

Kirito waved his hands frantically, "Ok! Calm down! I'm sorry! It's not like he gave me any other choice!"

Asuna sighed in exasperation, "The other day, when I saw you use you dual-wielding skill, I've never seen anything like that before. Thing is, the commander has his own unique skill too."

"The Divine Blade," I cut in, "It maximizes his offence and his defensive moves. His attack is strong, but his defense is incredible! No one has ever seen his HP fall into the yellow zone before! He's completely overpowered, and you agreed to a losing battle." 

"You shouldn't have agreed. I don't care if I get a leave of absence. It's not like it's that much of a big deal. But I don't want you to join the Knights of the Blood Oath against your will because of this" Asuna remarked with a frown.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not planning on losing easily" Kirito smirked.

"So," I start, contemplating what he just said, "You agree you're going to lose, just you aren't going to lose immediately?"

"What? No! That's not what I meant!"

Me and Asuna just sigh and shake our heads, knowing he was going to lose anyway, even if he doesn't think as much. 

_~Skippy!~_

"I told you" I sigh from our bed, as my husband grimaced at the uniform he had to wear. "Though I do applaud you for giving your best effort, and for actually landing a hit on him. Well done."

"I thought I asked for something that wasn't flashy" he just muttered.

"Believe it or not, that's one of our more plain uniforms" Asuna told him from the chair she was sitting in with a small smirk, "Don't worry, you look great."

Kirito just groaned and collapsed onto the bed. "I'm in a guild…."

"I guess it's sort of my fault, isn't it?" Asuna muttered apologetically.

"No" Kirito sighed, "I guess it's an opportunity. Me and Mars have gotten as far as we can go as a Duo Team. There's not much else we can learn from one another, plus you were right. If one of us is down and the other can't reach them in time, it's best if we had a guild on our backs."

"Well, that makes me feel a little better then." Asuna examined my poor husband for a moment, "Hey, Kirito? Why do you avoid guilds and people who aren't your wife? I hope you don't mind me asking." Kirito looked over to me and I shrugged. He can tell her. I just never did because I wasn't sure if he'd be ok with that.

He sighed sadly and kept his gaze on the floor, "It was a long time ago. About a year or so. Up til now, that was the only guild I was in, and so far the only one Mars has ever been in. It was small. Including us, there were only seven in it. They called themselves the Moonlit Black Cats. As players, they were good, but their levels were way lower than ours. I thought if we told them what our levels were, they wouldn't have wanted us around. So, I convinced Mars to keep our levels a secret and joined them. I watched them, messing around, having fun, I guess I just wanted to be apart of that. I mean, Mars had already partnered up with me, but 'the more the merrier' applies in this instance. But one day...they decided to take on a higher dungeon, and I went along with it, despite being reluctant. We ended up in a trap room filled with monsters and the room prevented the use of teleport crystals. All but myself had died. And soon, the leader, who had been with Mars buying a house for the guild, committed suicide when I told him. I'm the reason the guild got wiped out. If I hadn't convinced Mars to hide our levels and the fact that I was a beater, maybe I could've convinced them how dangerous that trap really was. I killed them…" 

I sigh. This again. I thought we've gotten over it after Christmas. "Idiot." I pull my dear, self-blaming husband into a hug, "I told you to stop blaming yourself." I feel a hand on my shoulder and see Asuna had placed one on mine and Kirito's as she smiled sympathetically at my husband.

"I'm not going to die, so don't worry about it."

 _ **October 23, 2024**_

"Hey, hey, hey!" I proclaim, entering the room proudly, brandishing my new uniform **(DollDivine)**. Since my husband had joined, despite against his will, I joined as well to keep an eye on him and so that we could be together. Heathcliff was all smug about it too, but that's to be expected as he had been trying for months to get me to join. Though the special treatment did confuse me, I decided not to question it. "Ta-da! How do I look?"

"It's the same thing as before! Only you replaced the purple with red!" Kirito whined.

"W-why?!" Asuna exclaimed.

"Heathcliff says I'm special~"

"B-but I'm the second in command and I don't even get any special treatment!"

"You're just jealous!" I stick my tongue out at her as I sit in the my husband's lap happily. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, except I have to go to some sort of training for new recruits with Gofreed" he sighed, before pausing and looking at me, "Hey, wait a sec, are you the second recruit coming with us?"

I shake my head, "Heathcliff said he wanted to train me today."

"Geez, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he actually liked you…" Asuna muttered, "As far as I know, Heathcliff doesn't like anybody. I mean, sure he cares about everyone in the guild, but it's like he considers you a friend or family member."

I shrug and kiss my husband lightly, before skipping off to the training area.

 _~Skippy!~_

"So, are you ready to learn?" Heathcliff asks me, standing tall and proud. I happily salute him with a nod. "Now then, what level are you again?"

"95" I answer proudly.

"I see. Well then, today I'd like to work on your unique skill. What was it? Fire Soul Sword?" I nod. "Alright. Here's a little secret. Unique skills also have sub-skill sets attached to them, as I found out with my own as I grew my stats. Right now, what exactly can you do?"

"Well, I can engulf my sword in flames, which varies in size and temperature depending on my mood. But, that's about it. It's useful in monster fights, as apparently, a lot of them aren't fireproof and will catch on fire, along with gaining a burn statis."

Heathcliff hummed a bit, "Now then, what are you going to do if your enemy disarms you, and you cannot equip another weapon? Your skill is pretty much useless then. Or is it?"

"I don't get it."

"As I said, there are sub-skill sets. Perhaps your sub-skill set may enable you to attack with no weapon at all. Hold out your hand and try to summon the fire to you. When you activate your skill in the middle of battle, it immediately triggers to your sword, but maybe it's your hand it triggers to, and the sword just intercepts it." I slowly nod and try to make fire appear, but to no avail. "What do you think about when you activate your skill? Do the same thing you would if you had a sword in your hand." Well, usually my sword just lights when I want it to. And I'm usually upset or feel angered at someone, usually monsters. And Kuradeel. I _hate_ Kuradeel! HATE! "Great job!" Huh?

I look at my hand to see it covered in red flames…I shriek in surprise and the fire disappears. "B-But I didn't even feel anything!"

"Well, I suppose that'd be because it's your skill," Heathcliff explains, "It'd be pointless if the fire harmed you when it was created to help you."

"Oh...That makes sense. So, what? Am I invincible against fire?"

"I don't know about that, but let's not test it, just in case. Maybe it's just your own fire that doesn't hurt you, since it's a part of yourself. Back to the lesson. As I said before, should you be unarmed, you'll need something to defend yourself with. The ability is called Fire Soul Sword, so perhaps you'll be able to summon a sword made completely of fire. Try it. Think of something to help you, along with what exactly you want to happen."

It took about an hour, and I still wasn't able to do it. I was getting frustrated, despite Heathcliff's attempts to calm me down. However, soon, I get a shiver down my spine. "My Kirito Senses are tingling!"

Heathcliff blinked, "Kirito...Senses…?"

"My husband is in danger!"

"I'm sure he's fine. It's training after all. It's probably just a monster. I'm sure Gofreed and Kuradeel will help him out" Heathcliff tries to assure me.

"KURADEEL?! That's who you sent out with him?! I trust that guy as much as I have luck, and I don't have a large amount of luck, if any at all! I'm coming Kirito Sweetheart!" I shout, rushing out of the arena, ignoring Heathcliff's calls. I open my map as I zoom through the floor. They were near a dungeon entrance, but what scared me was that Gofreed's icon soon disappeared. I check my husband's stats, and find that he's paralyzed for some reason.

I soon reach the dungeon and race through the maze, eventually reaching them. But I don't stop for a second as I see Kuradeel standing over my husband with a sword in his leg and my husband's HP almost completely gone. I had taken Dark Repulsor out as I ran, and slammed it against Kuradeel's gut, sending him flying into a nearby wall. I kneel beside Kirito and take out a healing crystal, it shattering as I order it to heal my husband.

"Thank the Lord I made it" I sigh, taking deep breaths that I needed from the long run. I take one last breath and give my husband a teary smile smile as he groggily opened his eyes. "My womanly instincts kicked in the moment you were paralyzed and I raced over as fast as I could. I was so worried, especially when Gofreed disappeared from the map. But you're alive. I'm not dreaming am I?"

"No, I'm alive" He answered tiredly. I hear some clunking and glare over to where Kuradeel was slowly getting up.

"Hang on. I'll finish this" I tell him, a bit surprised by the steel tone I had, but decided to focus on the soon-to-be-dead man. I make my way towards the man, holding Repulsor threateningly, as my mind kept ordering me to kill him with no mercy.

"L-Lady Mars! I can explain everything-"

"I know exactly what happened, and now you're going to pay" I say coldly, stabbing Repulsor forward, cutting his cheek. He stumbled back, but then sealed his fate by trying to stab me back. So, I ruthlessly attack him, slicing and stabbing him repeatedly. I go for one last hit, but he dropped his sword and whimpered.

"I give up! I surrender!" Kuradeel fell to his knees and bowed at my feet, "Please don't kill me! I'll leave the guild! You'll never see me again, I promise! Please!" Ignoring his pleas, I position Repulsor above him, ready to end his miserable life, but he cried out, "I don't wanna die!" I quickly stop the attack before I can harm him again, my stupid conscious telling me to stop. Apparently that was the wrong choice, as he chuckled and quickly grabbed his sword, slamming it against mine. Unprepared for the blow, Repulsor goes flying away from me. "The oldest trick in the book and you fell for it!"

My eyes widen as Kuradeel lifts his sword into the sky, preparing to strike, when suddenly, my mind reels back to today's lesson.

" _What are you going to do if an enemy disarms you, and you cannot equip another weapon? You skill is pretty much useless then. Or is it?" "Perhaps your sub-skill set may enable you to attack with no weapon at all." "Think of something to help you, along with what exactly you want to happen."_

My hand subconsciously grips onto something and I shoot forward, avoiding Kuradeel's sword altogether and stab at his stomach. He screams in pain and drops his sword as I back away from him, watching his clothes catch on fire where an obvious wound had originated with scorch marks surrounding the area. Soon enough, Kuradeel shatters as the last of his HP depletes. I look down at my hand, which was holding a new sword. Only, it wasn't really a sword. It was just blue flames in the shape of one. But that soon disappears as well.

I hear Kirito grunt a bit and quickly rush over to him, helping him sit up. The crystal only healed HP, not the paralysis, which was just now wearing off. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Good thing you arrive just in time" He smiled softly, before looking over at where Kuradeel was, "But what was that just now? How did you do that?"

"It's what Heathcliff wanted to teach me. Unique skills have sub-skill sets. That was a part of my own skill. It's not called Fire Soul Sword for no reason. Though, that was the first time I was able to do that. I was trying for almost an hour with no luck. I guess since I was so focused on killing the one who hurt you, it fueled my skill enough for it to happen. Heathcliff is going to be so proud!"

"Geez" Kirito sighed, "Why is everything about Heathcliff now? I almost died you know. Would it kill you to pay some attention to me only?"

"Aw, is something jealous?"

"No" He huffed, not even looking at me.

"Kirito is jealous~ Kirito is jealous~"

"Shut up!"

 _~Skippy!~_

So, after going back to HQ and explaining everything to Heathcliff, who was apologetic about even letting Kuradeel into the guild but proud that I unlocked my fire sword, he gave us the rest of the day off, which we used to spend time together. We also bought a new house. It was small, but it was perfect for us. And it didn't cost us four million Col. Take that Asuna!

After a nice dinner, and punching my husband for being a pervert (he kept giving me innuendos!), we soon went to bed. Well, I went to bed. He was content with sitting up and watching me sleep, the creeper.

 _~Dream~_

 _I slowly blinked my eyes open and stretched a bit, before rolling over to snuggle up to my husband. Only to reach nothing. I opened my eyes again and sat up to see I was back in my old room._

 _...What the heck?!_

 _A small knock came from the door, before it opened and our maid, Yuki, entered the room. She noticed me awake and smiled, "Hello, young mistress. I'm surprised to see you up so early."_

" _Uh, but,"_

" _Your parents wish to speak with you about today, so I urge you hurry and get dressed" she said happily, before leaving the room. But, why was she so casual?! I've been trapped in a video game for almost two years!_

 _I get up and race around the room, putting on a simple tank top and shorts, before rushing downstairs, where my parents were eating breakfast. Suichi barks happily and runs around my legs a bit before hurrying over to his food bowl. Mom looks over and smiles, "Good morning dear."_

 _Daddy then sees me as well and grins with a peace sign, "Hey kiddo! You wanna help me with my research today?"_

" _Why are you all being so casual?!" I blow up at them, making them jump and frown._

" _Is something wrong sweetheart?" Mom asked worriedly._

" _Yes, something's wrong! I've been trapped in a video game for two years and you guys are acting like I've never left!"_

" _It was just a dream baby-girl" Daddy waved me off._

" _No it wasn't!"_

 _But then, even more weirded, Uncle Akihiko entered our house with a bag! "And how's my favorite niece today?"_

" _What are you doing here?!" I shout, backing away from him. He frowned and looked at my parents curiously, and they shrugged. "I don't understand what's going on! He's a wanted criminal! Why aren't you guys freaking out?! He's responsible for the deaths of thousands of people!"_

" _Rei, that's enough" Mom said sternly, "Accusing your uncle of such is absolutely horrible!"_

" _But it true! He trapped me and other gamers in his stupid Sword Art Online game, where if you die there, you die in the real world! How can you not freak out?! Daddy even said he was going to kill him!" Mom and Dad exchange a worried look and rush over to me, checking my forehead and everything. "Stop that! I'm not sick or anything! Let me just find Kirito and he'll explain everything!"_

" _Who's Kirito?" Dad asked._

" _My partner! He's my in-game husband! If you just let me go find him-"_

" _You're too young to be married" Mom argued._

" _Yes, hence in-game. It just means he's my boyfriend and-"_

" _Boyfriend?! Who? I need to give him the riot act to make sure he's good for you!" Daddy said sternly. "I bet he's just dating you because of our money!"_

" _He's not like that, and that's not the point!"_

 _However, nobody would listen to me as I tried harder and harder to make them understand. I felt as though I was going to scream, before something poked my cheek._

 _~End of Dream!~_

I blink my eyes open to see my beloved Kirito sitting above me. I sigh and smile at him, relief filling my being. It was just a dream. "Why are you smiling?"

"I dreamed about my old life in the real world. It was really weird too. I woke up back home, but everyone was acting as though none of this ever happened. And when I tried to explain, they just brushed it off as a dream or my imagination. And my uncle showed up and I tried to make them see reason, and tried to tell him about the awful crime he committed, but nobody believed me. And then when I insisted on finding you and having you explain everything to them, Daddy started throwing a fit on my having a boyfriend and demanded he threaten you...Oddly enough, that's exactly what he'll do when we go back…"

"And now I'm scared of going back. Thank you for the intel."

"You're welcome." 

My husband rolled his eyes, "Anyway, as you know our first anniversary is coming up, so I was thinking we leave the front lines for a small break. Maybe a week or two off. I think we deserve it. We can go to Floor 22 and buy a nice house in the southwestern area, near the small village by the forests and lakes."

"I like that idea" I smile happily. Before taking notice of what I'm wearing, "Wait a second...Wasn't I wearing a nightgown?" 

"Yep" he answered with a devious grin.

….

"PERVERT!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Me: Hi everyone! I would've updated sooner, but verizon decided to be a bugger and wasn't working yesterday. I may or may not update another chapter today to make up for it. And I would like to point out that Mars was not naked last chapter. Anyway, I shall not delay you any longer!**

 _ **October 24, 2024**_

"What?!" Asuna exclaimed after we explained the day before to her. We only really told Heathcliff and forgot about our friend...I feel so bad about that. "That's awful! But Heathcliff should've told us yesterday after you returned!"

"I'm sure he was going to explain today. After all, it was a bit late when we came back yesterday."

"I knew Kuradeel was creepy and stuff, but I never expected that sort of thing from him!"

"Well he was a member of Laughing Coffin" my husband muttered. OK, even I didn't know that.

"Eh?!"

"He showed me his hidden tattoo before trying to kill me" Kirito shrugged. I sigh and shake me head. Of course _he'd_ act like it was no big deal. But if Laughing Coffin was able to sneak their way into one of the best guilds, then there could be trouble.

"Anyway, I'm going to go ask Heathcliff if we can have a leave of absence" I explain, before skipping off. I eventually find our leader in his office reading some papers. "Hello sir!"

"Mars, I've told you before, you can call me Heathcliff" He said with a small smile. I just wave him off.

"I was wondering if me and Kirito could have a small leave of absence. It's almost our anniversary and we want to have some time to ourselves, along with a break from the front lines" I tell him, before giving him the puppy eyes that never fail. "Please!"

Heathcliff blinked and sighed, "Very well. But I expect you to be back in at least two weeks."

"Yay! Thank you sir!" I cheer before running out to tell my husband the good news. I just pretend I didn't hear Heathcliff call out that I'm to call him 'Heathcliff'.

 _ **October 25, 2024**_

As we agreed, we bought a nice little cottage outside the village on Floor 22, which a beautiful view of the lake and mountains. I run out on the balcony and enjoy the sight, "This view is so amazing!"

"It is pretty awesome," my husband agreed, walking over beside me, "But don't fall off the balcony. That would really suck." I stick my tongue out at him. "What? You're the one with bad luck, remember?"

I huff and cross my arms, before being unable to hold back my smile, "We bought the best house!"

"A~nd, now we're totally broke" Kirito remarked, making me laugh, as he put his hand around my waist.

"It was worth it, though. Besides, we have a few things of Col left over, so we're not _totally_ broke." I peer up at my husband, to see him staring in the distance, as though in a trance. "What's up?"

"I was just thinking," He started, "Does our relationship only exist in this world?" I frown, before reaching up and cuffing his ear. "Ow!"

"You idiot. I don't care if this is a virtual world! My feelings are real. So if we ever get back to the real world, I'll find you no matter what. I'll even hire an entire team of private investigators if I have to." In an effort to assure him, I place a small kiss on his lips, and he pulls me closer.

 _~Skippy!~_

I yawn and sit up. Or, at least, try to sit up. Turns out Kirito had rolled onto me in the middle of the night, and I'm currently being held down by him. I huff and just decide to wait for him to wake up. So, I'm stuck watching him sleep until then.

Though I do admit, he is pretty cute when he sleeps. He looks younger than just 16. Now that I think about, he acts younger than his age too…

I sigh, voicing my thoughts aloud, "He's a brash and impulsive idiot, but I love him." Soon enough, Kirito wakes up groggily with a loud groan. He never was a morning person. "Well good morning Sleeping Beauty."

"Shuddap" He slurred before letting out a loud yawn.

"Well, where should we go today?"

"Didn't we go out yesterday? And the day before that?"

"Yesterday doesn't count, because it was our anniversary. It was mandatory," I whine, grabbing onto his arm, "I wanna go out again! Please! Come on Kirito! Pretty please!"

He sighed, before pausing and giving me a devious grin, "I know a place we could go."

 _~Skippy!~_

I skip beside my husband as we head to wherever he wanted to take me. We made our way down the wooden path, me cuddling his arm as he led us through. "Where are we going?"

"You'll have to wait and see" Kirito teased. I pout before letting go of his arm and jumping onto his back.

"Carry me there!"

"Wh-hey!" He complained, "Get off! What are you? 5?"

"Age doesn't matter!" I argue, before punishing him, "Now you have to carry me on your shoulders! See what happens when you complain?"

"Geez, what do you eat?!"

I slap his head for that, "Onwards horsey!" Kirito sighs in exasperation before walking on with me happily riding his shoulders. "This view is even better!"

"Now you're just rubbing it in…."

"Yes I am!" He pouted, "Alright, if it makes you feel better, you can ride my shoulders on the way home."

"No thanks…"

"Fine, bugger. Be that way!" Soon the path reaches the lakeside and I make Kirito stop in front of a Sakura Tree. I happily pick one of the branches and wave it in front of him. "Isn't it pretty? I think we should make a flower center for the table, don't you?"

"Whatever you say, dear" he sighed, already giving in to my demands. Good husband. I happily wave to some of the fishermen nearby who had noticed us, much to Kirito's chagrin.

"Come on, wave back or they'll think you're rude" I say, lightly pulling a strand of his hair.

"No thanks."

I bite my lip in thought, "Are you embarrassed? Do you want me to get down?"

He shook his head before giving me a mischievous grin, "Hang on tight."

"Why?" I ask, before he races forward, making me give a small shriek of surprise before laughing joyfully.

 _~Skippy!~_

"I heard this weird rumor yesterday, about how if you go deep enough into the forest, you'll see, _them_ " Kirito explained, as we walked through the woods. I was happily playing with the flowers I picked.

"See who?" I ask curiously.

Kirito stopped walking with a small smirk, "Ghosts." I instantly freeze up and start shaking in fear. Oh how I hate you….

"Y-y-y-you mean, l-l-like Griselda?" I stutter.

"Almost. They say that the monsters hunted here, come back to wander the forest at night." Oh, that's ok then. It's the middle of the afternoon. We're safe! But then a crack echoes and I squeak. "We're almost there."

"T-the place that r-r-rumer mentions?" I ask, looking around frantically.

"About a week ago, a carpenter came into the forest to find wood for a project. He stayed so long, and before he knew it, it was night. As he walked along, he caught a glimpse of something white standing by a tree." I squeak again and shake some more. But I jump in fear when I actually see something white walking by some trees. "Was it a monster? Or something else?" I frantically try to point towards the thing in the distance, to show Kirito, but I end up shaking too much. "The white figure slowly walked towards some trees and-"

"H-h-h-h-hey! Look!" I shout, finally straightening my limbs enough, though still shaking. I shriek in fear pushing myself off my husband's shoulders, flipping to my feet, before grabbing onto his shirt and hiding my face.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked with slight confusion.

"I-i-i-it's over there!"

"What are you talking about?" I grab his face and move it towards the figure's direction, "You gotta be kidding…" Of course I practically faint when the figure looks over at us, collapsing to the ground, curling up into a ball. "Hold on…That's not a ghost!" And my husband starts running towards the figure.

"W-wait! Kirito! Don't leave me alone~!" I shriek racing after him. However, I pause when I see him kneeling beside the figure from before, only it was an unconscious little girl. "Sh-she's a player?"

"Yeah. But there's something really strange about her. She doesn't have a cursor" Kirito said. I check to see he was correct.

"Maybe it's a bug?" But, again, it's only a theory. I seriously doubt there are any in this game. But if not that, then why doesn't she have a cursor? "What's a little girl like this playing SAO?" My husband shrugged, "Well, we'll find out when she wakes up. Let's take her home with us."

 _~Skippy!~_

Me and Kirito were sitting on our bed, looking over at the girl. The cottage came with two beds, even though we didn't need it, so we placed her on that one. "One thing's for sure, she's not an NPC. We didn't have any trouble moving here."

"That's true. If she was, she would've given you a warning when you picked her up, like other NPCs."

"And she's definitely not a quest giver either. Our quest log would've been updated as soon as we interacted with her. She has to be a player. She probably had to have been out there for a while, wandering around lost. That's the most likely scenario."

"Yeah, but what was she doing out there" I mutter.

"You're guess is as good as mine, but she has to have a parent or guardian out there, right?"

"She had to have logged in with someone from her family. But what if they were killed? I hope not." We were silent for a moment, "Hey, do you think she'll wake up?"

"Yeah. If her body hasn't disappeared, that means signals are still being transmitted to and from her NerveGear. She's in some kind of sleep mode. I'm sure she'll wake up soon" Kirito assured me as I lean my head on his shoulder, "And the sooner the better."

Later, at night, I couldn't sleep, unlike my husband, who was all but snoring. I glance over at the little girl and, making up my mind, get out of our bed and sit beside her, brushing some hair from her face. I hope she hasn't been here alone all this time. That'd be just awful. I look over at my husband, who, in my absence, has taken up the rest of the bed. I sigh and shake my head, before scooting in the bed beside the little girl. "Good night. Hurry and wake up tomorrow, ok?"

 _~Skippy!~_

I blink my eyes open and turn my head back a bit. Only to see big brown eyes staring right at me. I give out a small shriek of surprise and fall out of the bed. I groan in pain as I hear my husband shoot up from his own sleep at the sound of my crash. "Stupid past life…."

"Are you alright?" Kirito asks, getting up and helping me.

"Yeah" I answer, before remembering the little girl, who was now awake and staring at us. I sit beside her happily, "Thank goodness you woke up! Do you remember what happened to you?" She thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head. "Ok. Well, how about your name?"

"N-name? My name...Yui? Yui...That's my name." It's a bit worrisome that she had such a hard time remembering her own name, but that happens with amnesia, which I assume she has.

"Yui, huh? That's a nice name. My name's Mars, and this is my husband, Kirito."

"Mars? Kito?" Ha. Kito. Nice.

I smile softly at her, "Try to remember, what were you doing in the forest? And, do you know where your mom and dad are now?"

"I...I don't know. I can't remember anything…"

"Amnesia" I mutter sadly. So I was right.

My husband then smiles, trying to comfort Yui, "Well, you're awake. Can I call you Yui?" She nodded, "Alright, then you can call me Kirito. Can you say Kirito?"

"Kito?"

"It's Kirito. Ki-ri-to" He said gently, trying to help her.

Yui frowned a bit before trying again, "Kito."

My husband then pats her head with a smile, "That's ok. It's a bit hard. How about you call me whatever is easier for you." Yui thought for a moment before coming up with the cutest thing ever.

"Daddy."

"M-me?" Kirito asked in shock. I think for a moment. Kirito is daddy, which must mean I'm mommy! Yay!

I look at Yui with happy expectation, eyes starry and surround with sparkles, as she points towards me, "Mars." And that shot an arrow at my heart….

"Y-you can call me mommy if you want" I tell her, eyes practically pleading.

"Mars." I sulk in the corner, growing mushrooms like the guy from that one anime.

"Eh-heh-heh….Uh, why don't we have breakfast" Kirito suggested with a sweatdrop.

 _~Skippy!~_

I place a plate of pie in front of Yui, who looked over at my husband, who was eating his usual favorite sandwich. Kirito noticed and gave her a sly smirk, "I don't know Yui, this one is super spicy."

Yui pondered this, before giving my husband a large smile, "I want the same thing as Daddy has!" She still hasn't called me mommy….

"Ok, if you want one, I won't stop you. You only live once, right?" Kirito said, offering her one of his sandwiches. Yui took a bite, and after a long chew, with her face looking a bit twisted, she gave a weak smile.

"I like it…" Liar.

"Wow, she's got guts! We can do a full-course of extra spicy food tonight if you want!" Kirito said excitedly.

"Don't get carried away. I'm not cooking anything nuclear!" I huff, crossing my arms. He's her father for not even an hour and she already has him wrapped around her finger!

"You heard the lady" Kirito sighed.

"You heard the lady?" Yui repeated, before she and my husband laughed. So cute!

Soon, Yui fell asleep in the chair, as I watch her with Kirito. I had moved over to the couch and was cuddling up to him. "So, what do you think?" 

"I don't know. She's a blank slate. No memories. It's really weird." 

"I've never heard of players getting amnesia in SAO before…" However, much to our confusion, there's a knock at the door, which actually woke Yui up. I head over and open the door, to see Asuna standing there, in full uniform. "Asuna?"

"I just wanted to see how you guys were doing" she said happily, "I was passing by while heading for a mission."

"Liar" I reply bluntly, making her sweatdrop.

"Ok, I just wanted to check on you guys. This is completely out of the way of where I need to be, so I can't stay too long."

"Called it." Kirito walked over, with Yui hiding behind him.

"Asuna?"

"Hi Kirito! You guys enjoying yourselves so far?" Asuna asked curiously. I nod as Yui tugs on my husband's shirt.

"Daddy, who's this?" she asked him.

"Oh right! Asuna, this is Yui. Yui, this is my best friend, Asuna" I introduce, before turning to Asuna, "We found her in the woods, with no memories." Asuna looked saddened by that, which I completely understand.

"Auna?"

My friend smiles a bit and kneels in front of her, "It's Asuna. As-u-na."

"As-na?" Yui looked a bit frustrated.

"Ok, just call me what you want."

Wait…

"Mommy?"

"WHY?!" I yell in despair, falling to me knees as tears comically rush out of my eyes. Both Asuna and Kirito sweatdrop at me.

"Uh, heh-heh" Asuna laughed nervously, "Well, actually, you can call me anything but that. You see, Mars should be your mommy, if Kirito is your daddy. They're married, after all."

"Oh." Kirito rubbed my shoulder sympathetically as I sulk in the corner.

Soon, Yui was playing around the house as we talked with Asuna. And, despite Asuna's insistence, Yui still wouldn't call me mommy...At least she didn't call Asuna that anymore.

"Given her gear, I'd say she's probably not that high on levels. I wonder why she made her way up here in the first place," Asuna said, "But still, I suggest you check the Town of Beginnings first. Perhaps her family was one of the ones who settled into the game instead of fighting, which makes sense if they had to care for Yui as well. But be careful. It's Army territory, and from what I've heard, they haven't been too good towards the players living there. Anyway, I should get going. Let me know if you find anything."

"We will" Kirito replied as Asuna said goodbye to Yui and left. I frown as I watch Yui run around happily. I know she should be with her family, but…My husband grabs my hand and smiled sympathetically, "I don't want to say goodbye to her either."

"Really?"

"I don't know what it is. But even though we just met her, having her here, it's made our little cabin feel like a real home. Don't you think so?" I nod as a few tear fill my eyes. I really don't want her to leave! Not even a full day and she's like my own daughter! Even though she refuses to call me mommy…. "Look, it's not like we'll never see her again. If she's got a family out there, they're probably worried about her right now."

"Yeah. I know it's selfish of me, but…" 

"I understand."

 _ **October 31, 2024**_

The teleportation platform transports us to the Town of Beginnings, with Yui riding Kirito's back. "It's been forever since I've been back here."

"Over a year for me at least." Last time I was here, me and Keita were buying a house for our guild. I glance at Yui with a smile, as she looked around in awe, "What do you think? Do you recognize anything?"

"I don't know…"

"Don't get down about it. The Town of Beginnings is a really big place" My husband assured her, "So how about it? Should we start at the central market?"

I nod and we make our way through the town. Oddly enough, it's really quiet and there's barely anyone around. "Hey, Kirito. Do you know how many players are here? Right here in the town."

He hummed in thought, "Good question. Last I checked, there were 6000 players still alive in SAO. And about 30 percent of those people, including the Army, live in the Town of Beginnings. So, maybe a little less than 2000."

"Ooh, the boy knows math" I tease, and he shoots me an annoyed glance, "But, seriously, isn't it a bit dead around here?"

"Yeah…."

We pause in our walk and look around curiously. If what Asuna said is right, then everyone is probably too scared of the Army to come out. These poor players. Stuck with having such horrible people harass them. The KOB helps other players, not hinder them. However a scream knocked me out of my thoughts, "Leave those children alone!"

We turn to the alley way it came from and overhear a couple of men talking, pretty loudly. Me and Kirito exchange a determined look, before racing towards the noise. We rush around the corner and leap over the group of Army men in our way, landing safely behind them, blocking the poor kids from their view. The Day-Care woman was on the other side, trying to make them leave the kids alone. I walk over to the kids and smile softly at them, "You guys are going to be ok now. Pick up your stuff and put your equipment back on."

"O-ok" The first boy nodded, as all three of them stare at us in slight shock. I don't blame them. We did just appear out of nowhere.

"What the-woah! Hey! Who the hell are you?!"

"This is Army business so get the hell out of our way."

Then, the obvious leader of the group walked forward. "Hold on. I got this. I guess your all new in town, yeah? Cause we're with the Liberation Army, and you do not mess with us!" And then the big shot took out his sword and waved it around, acting all tough and mighty. Let's see how he does playing with the Flame Queen, yeah?

"Kirito, take care of Yui. This is my fight" I tell him walked forward as I keep my narrowed eyes on the large idiot. I take out Dark Repulsor from its sheath as I make my way to the overconfident ass. I raise it to the level of my cheek before thrusting forward, slamming my sword against him. He's knocked down, onto his back, from the blow, and I ruthlessly thrust Repulsor forward once more. I give him an evil grin, and say with a mock-sympathetic tone, "Oh, don't worry. It's a safe zone. Your HP won't deplete at all, but you will gain the knocked back feeling with every hit. I wonder how many times I can do that before you actually start feeling pain?" He tried to rush away, but I was too fast with slamming my sword against his back.

"Don't just stand there! Do something!" he ordered his men with a bit of fear in his voice. But not enough for my tastes. They looked like they were contemplating doing as the big shot said, so I decide to make them reconsider.

I raise Repulsor in a stance, "I wonder if you know of me. That might change your minds about harassing these people, as I don't take well with bullies." I light Repulsor on fire, and have my blue flame-sword appear in my other hand, "Ever hear of the Flame Queen?"

And, like I was hoping, that scared the Hell out of them, and they ran away as fast as their legs could take them. Idiots. I retrieve my flames and sheath Dark Repulsor, before turning to my proud husband and the children, who were staring at me with wide eyes.

I give them a nervous smile. Don't tell me I scared them too?!

"Awesome," The first boy remarked, before all three started grinning and running over to me, "That was so awesome, Big Sister!" The woman from before came over and thanked me, but I was too happy to notice. 

Big...Sister….YAY! I gain starry eyes as I hug all three, "That's right! Just call me Big Sister! I'm so happy! Yui! Why can't you learn from these three and call me Mommy?!" I pause and actually notice what Yui was doing. She was reaching up at the sky with a distant expression, while Kirito looked confused, "Yui? What's wrong?" I worriedly walk over to them, "Did you remember something?"

"I...I….I was never here. In this place" she cried softly, "I was always alone, in the dark…." But then the strangest thing happened. Yui suddenly let out a loud scream, but it sounded more like scratchy static that made everyone cover their ears. However, I noticed that Yui was falling off of Kirito's back, so I rushed forward and caught her before she could hit the ground. Pretty sure my ears bled a bit, but Yui's safe so it's ok. "Mars, I'm scared."

"What was that...just now?" I hear my husband mutter before Yui fainted.

"Yui…"


	13. Chapter 13

**Me: Hello my beloved readers! So, just to inform you, me and a friend have decided to combine our SAO stories, Sword Art Online: Tales of The Hunters by Tf2Scout. We're working on a crossover story on Archive of Our Own, while our original stories will be here for your enjoyment. Btw, I forgot to tell you guys that Mars has a new outfit on Deviantart. Review and Enjoy!**

The next day, we were eating breakfast with Sasha, the Day-Care woman, and all the children she takes care of. Which were a lot. Yui was happily eating her own piece of bread as Sasha poured us some tea. My husband was watching the children, equally as in awe as myself. "There's so many of them."

"Yeah" I nod in agreement.

"I know, right. It's like this pretty much every day," Sasha told us, "By the way, is Yui feeling any better?" She had been passed out for the rest of yesterday, but woke up completely fine this morning.

"Well, she got a good night's sleep, so I think she's ok" Kirito said as we look over at our adopted daughter, who was ignorant to everyone.

"Has this ever happened before?"

"We have no idea. You see, we found her on Floor 22, wandering the forest with no memories. That's the reason we came here," I explain to her. Yui then held out her bread to me with a wide smile. I take it and pat her head fondly, "We thought someone might know her."

"Does she look familiar? Have you ever seen her before?" Kirito asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't. I mean, there are a lot of kids in town, but I've never seen her. When the game started, a lot of the children suffered severe psychological trauma. I couldn't stand by and do nothing, so I moved to this church and made it a safe place for them to live. I walk through the town everyday, looking for kids like these, kids who might need my help. But in this time, I've never seen her before."

"Back to square one, then" I sigh, disheartened. But then a knock comes from the door. All of us get up and open it, to reveal a silver-haired woman.

"Sorry to bother you. I'm Yulier" She introduced with a bow. I eye her suspiciously.

"You're with the Army, right" I ask, taking notice of the uniform, "I hope you aren't here to cause trouble because of yesterday."

"Not at all" She said, earnestly, "In fact, I'm here to thank you. You did right by putting those men in their place. Actually, I came here to ask the two of you for your help."

"Really?"

 _~Skippy!~_

We invited Yulier in, reluctantly on my part as I believe my husband is a bit too trusting, but I can tell he was still wary, and gathered at a table. I glanced over at Yui, who kept leaning forward, about to fall asleep, but would straighten up last second. She's so cute!

"When the guild was formed we, well actually it was our leader, Thinker, never wanted it to become the dictatorial organization it's become. At first, the mission of the guild was to share information and food equally among as many players as possible," Yulier explained.

"But then the guild grew too large, didn't it?" My husband guessed.

Yulier nodded, "Right. After much infighting, one man become very powerful. His name is Kibaou." I knew that guy was bad news...I'll give him a piece of my mind later. "Kibaou and his group became stronger and stronger, monopolizing all the best monster spawn points. They're out of control now, extorting other players under the pretense of collecting taxes. It was obvious Kibaou didn't care about clearing the game, and it made a lot of people mad. He had to do something to get back into their good graces, so he sent the highest-level players he had to the front lines."

"So he's responsible for Corvatz and his men" I mutter angrily. Yep. Definitely teaching that guy a lesson now.

"Kibaou was denounced after spearheading that massacre. That's when we seriously started considering kicking him out of the guild for good. And now that he's scared and getting desperate, he's decided to eliminate Thinker," Poor Yulier's eyes started to gather tears. She must really care for her guild leader. Or she could be a great actress. "He set a trap, and stranded Thinker deep inside a dungeon."

"Can't he teleport out?" My husband asked.

Yulier shook her head and I gape, "Don't tell me he went unarmed!"

"He didn't take any weapons. Kibaou told him he wanted to talk, unarmed. Thinker believed him. That was three days ago."

"Can't he find his way out?" 

"The dungeon is the high level we've seen so far. He can't get out of there on his own. As his second-in-command, this is my responsibility. But the problem is, my level isn't high enough to reach him. And Kibaou is using his 'influence' to keep the rest of the Army from helping me. When I heard the two of the most powerful players anyone's seen were in town, I thought this was my chance! I tracked you down because I need your help!" Yulier than stood up and gave us a deep bow, "Kirito. Mars. I beg you. For Thinker's sake, please help me rescue him from that dungeon!"

I exchange a look with Kirito, before turning back to the silver-haired player, "If you think we can help you rescue Thinker, then we'd be glad to help. But, the thing is, we'd like to know if you're telling the truth…" 

"I know we just met, and I'm asking a lot from you, but when I think about him trapped alone in there, I feel, like I'm going insane!"

I stay silent for a moment. On one hand, she could be telling the truth and there's a man who needs our help. And on the other, this could be a trap to take us out… But then Yui's voice cuts in, "It's ok, Mars. She's telling the truth."

"Y-you mean you can tell?" I stutter. How...

Yui nodded, "I don't know how I know she is, but, I know!"

I stare at her, until Kirito starts laughing, "I'd rather trust her and regret it, than not trust her and regret it. Wouldn't you?" I hum, "Let's go. It'll all work out. Right?"

I snort at his laid back grin, "You're always so easy-going." I turn back to Yulier, "We'll help you. I just hope we're strong enough to do it."

Yulier bowed once more, "Thank you so much!"

"I know what it's like to wanna save someone, especially one you care about. I can't tell you how many times I've had to save this idiot!"

"Hey!" Kirito whined. I stick my tongue at him, and he huffs, before patting Yui's head, "Stay here and wait for us, ok?"

"No! I'm coming too!" She cried.

"Oh come on Yui. Don't you want to stay here with me?" Sasha asked softly, but Yui cried no once again.

"I thought the rebellious stage didn't start until the teenage years" Kirito muttered, and I smack his head.

"This isn't a time for jokes! Yui, it's too dangerous for you to come with us" I try to tell her, but she just grabs ahold of Kirito's arm.

"I'm going too!"

I groan, "Maybe she's a teen in disguise."

"I thought you said this isn't a time for jokes!"

 _~Skippy!~_

We couldn't convince Yui to stay, and Kirito was won over by her puppy eyes. He's so weak….I told that to his face too. But then Yui moved her eyes towards me and I broke as well….

Which is why Yui was riding Kirito's shoulder as we make our way through the Black Iron Castle dungeon that was apparently hidden under the Town of Beginnings. "I'm surprise this place is here in the first place."

"I know. There wasn't anything like this in the Beta Test" Kirito remarked.

"I think the dungeon opens up to reveal more as the floors above are cleared" Yulier stated, "I bet Kibaou was planning on keeping this place all to himself."

"Exclusive access to spawns can be profitable."

"The thing is, the monsters around here are usually around level 60. He wouldn't be able to do much hunting." We soon reach a staircase leading further below, "This is the entrance."

Yui looked at the darkening hall in awe, before turning to Yulier, "Don't worry, I'm not scared!"

"It's alright," I assure her, seeing she looks a bit apprehensive, "Believe it or not, she's tougher than she looks."

Kirito nodded determinedly, "She'll make a fine swordswoman someday!"

"Let's go then."

 _~Skippy!~_

Me and Yui were happily watching Kirito fight a horde of frog monsters, while Yulier frowned a bit. "I feel like I should apologize. He's doing all the fighting."

"Don't. He's happy out there. Kirito was getting a bit battle-thirsty during our vacation" I wave her off, and look around, "We're pretty far down. Are we almost there?" Yulier opened her window and mapped where Thinker was.

"Thinker hasn't moved from this position for a while now. It could be a safe zone, but I can't be sure. If we can reach it, then maybe we can use a teleport crystal." And then my dear husband walks back over with a happy grin.

"Woo! I really fought up a storm!"

"I should've helped you" Yulier said, but Kirito waved her off.

"No, not at all. I had a blast. Besides, they dropped some items."

"Anything good?" I ask curiously.

Kirito grinned and nodded happily, before opening our inventory and taking out a...frog leg…"W-what is that?!"

"It's scavenged toad meat" He proclaimed.

"Those frogs?!"

"Hey, the weirder the meat, the better the taste! Maybe you could cook it up later!" I flinch away when he holds it up to me. My parents took me to Paris for a small family vacation, and forced me to try frog legs. I hated it and ended up getting sick later that night…

"Not on your life!" I shout at him, grabbing the leg and throwing it far down the hall we came from.

"What the hell?! Oh come on! What'd you do that for?!" I huff, and he huffed back before shoving forward with an arm full of frog meat, "Alright, fine! What am I going to do with these?!" I shriek and start throwing the damned leg back as he tried to keep them away from me.

"NO! NONONONO!"  
"Mars! It's good meat!"

"GET RID OF IT!"

"But it's delicious!"

"Delicious my butt! You like it so much, then here!" I grab the last leg that he was holding and start shoving it in his mouth, but then Yui's voice called out.

"You smiled!" We pause and look over to see Yui smiled widely up at Yulier, "I've never ever seen you smile before!" Yulier stared at Yui for a moment, before being unable to hold a smile back. I don't know how anyone can resist her. I gently take her hand in my own.

"Come on. Let's go."

 _~Skippy!~_

Yui was sleeping on my back as we walked down the hall. Poor thing tried to stay awake for the trip, but it was obvious she was tired, so I picked her up and carried her. Soon, a bright light was seen further down the hall. "Hey look! I think that's a safe zone."

Kirito activated his long-distance sight, "It looks like a player is inside." Yulier jumps and immediately starts running forward.

"It's Thinker!"  
"Wait, don't!" Kirito called after her as Yui rubbed her eyes open. We rush after her, knowing it's a bit too easy to just get there safely, with no monsters guarding it.

"Yulier!" The person in the safe zone called out, "Stay back! The corridor is rigged!"

But Yulier apparently didn't register the words and kept running, while my husband raced forward and shoved her out of the way before a large scythe stabbed the ground where they were. Kirito ran ahead to fight the monster while I hurried to Yulier. "Take Yui to the safe zone and wait for us there."

"R-right." Yulier takes Yui, who was reluctant, and rushes towards the safe zone with Thinker as I take our Dark Repulsor and follow after my husband. The monster was a giant floating grim reaper...I hate my uncle….

"Mars," my husband calls, "Use a teleport crystal to get Yui and the others out of here. I can't see it's data with my ID skill. It could be as strong as something from Floor 90. I can buy you time, just get everyone out of here."  
"You must be insane if you think I'm going to leave you here."

"I'll catch up! Now get going!" He ordered strictly. I look over at the three, who were watching worriedly.

"Take care of Yui. Run while you still have a chance!" I command them, much to husband's chagrin.

"Mars!"

"We can't leave-" I cut Yulier off with another stern command. So she and Thinker take out teleport crystals for all three of them, and I rush over beside Kirito.

"I told you to go" He huffed.

"I told you before, I'm not leaving you" I retort as we lift our swords up together in preparation for another attack. However, the blow was too strong and the two of us get blasted back, landing hard against the floor. I wince as my HP depletes to yellow, along with my husband's. I try to get up, but I just fall back to the ground, weakened from the attack.

"Yui, no!" I look up in shock as Yui walked in front of us and the monster right before she can teleport away with Yulier and Thinker.

"What are you doing?! Get away from it!" Kirito ordered her, but Yui ignored him.

"Daddy, Mars. It's ok" she stated as Fatal Scythe raised its weapon.

"YUI!" Fatal Scythe went to attack, but something shielded Yui and knocked the monster back, "Immortal Object?" Yui started to float into the air and flames engulfed her, before revealing her in the same clothes we found her in and a long flaming sword in her hand. She easily raised the sword and slammed it against the monster, destroying it. How….

Me and Kirito weakley stand up as Yui turns to us, "Daddy, Mars. I remember everything now."

We quietly walked into the safe zone, where Yui sat on a table slab in the middle of the room. "So, you remember who you are?"

"Yes. Kirito. Mars." She changed her name for Kirito…. "Everything in SAO is controlled by a single massive system. The system is called Cardinal. It was designed to operate entirely on it's own, without any human intervention. It's function is to regulate the balance of SAO, according to its own discretion. From monsters and NPC AI, to drop rates for items and money, everything is controlled by the processes executed by the Cardinal program. That includes the psychological care of the players. Mental Health Counselling Program, prototype 1. Codename: Yui. That is who I am."

"An AI...program?" I mutter in shock.

"I was given the ability to emulate emotion, to put players at ease with me. Nothing about me is real," she explained as she started crying, "Not even my tears. I'm sorry Mars."

"B-but what about your amnesia? I didn't think that could happen to an AI…"

"Two years ago, on the day of the official launch, and for reasons I never understood, the Cardinal program banned me from interacting with any of the players. I wasn't allowed to assist them. I couldn't do anything except continuing to monitor their mental states. Their situation was, in a word, was horrible. Terror, despair, rage. People were overcome with negative feelings. Some of them couldn't take it, and went completely insane. Under normal circumstances, my function would have been to go to such players immediately. But I wasn't permitted any contact with them. Little by little, errors began piling up inside of me, and I fell apart. But then, one day, I saw two players whose mental parameters were completely different from all the rest of the players. There was joy, and peace, and friendship. But there was more love than the other emotions. I wandered through the playing field, hoping to get as close to both of you as I could without being detected. I wanted to meet the two of you for the longest time. That's strange, isn't it? It should be impossible for me to think things like that. I'm only a program after all…"

"Maybe, what your feeling are real human emotions" I suggest as my own tears gather. My poor little Yui!

But she just shook her head, "I don't know. I'm so confused. I don't know what's happened to me."

Kirito leaned to the level of her eyes and smiled softly at her, "You aren't just a program anymore. The system can't control you. Listen. If you want something, all you have to do is say it. So go ahead and tell us what you want."

"What I want? I..." she muttered, before slowly reaching her arms out to us, "I want to stay with you forever. Daddy, Mommy!"

I let out a soft sob before racing forward and crushing her into a hug, "You finally called me mommy! We'll stay together forever, just like you want!"

I feel my husband wrap his arms around us as well, "Yeah. Because you're our little girl."

"It's too late…"  
"For what?" Kirito questioned as we loosen our hold on her and look at her in confusion. She turned her attention to the slab she was sitting on.

"This is actually an emergency gaming console that a GM can use to gain access to the system. I used it to delete the monster in the corridor. And now, because I disobeyed the Cardinal's directive, the system is running a check on my program. It thinks I'm a foreign object now. I'll be deleted immediately."

"What?!" I exclaim in horror. Why?! Just my luck, no thanks to that stupid past life or whatever. Let me bond with a little girl, who became my adopted daughter, only to rip her away from me! WHY?!

"There has to be a way to stop it" Kirito said hurriedly.

"Daddy, Mommy, thank you. This is goodbye."

"N-No!" I shout grabbing her again, "You can't leave! W-we just started living like a real family! You just started calling me mommy!"

"Don't go!" My husband ordered, taking Yui's hand as she stared glowing.

"You have a way of making everyone smile, Daddy, Mommy. From now on, and for me, please continue my work. Keep helping people and share your happiness with everyone." I shake my head as tear stream down my face. She can't expect me to be happy if our family is broken! "Smile Mommy!" Only she would start calling me mommy when she knows she's going to disappear! It's just going to make me miss her more!

My legs shake and next thing I know, I collapse to the ground, sobs wracking my body.

"Cardinal! No, Kayaba Akihiko! Don't think things are always going to go the way you want!" I hear my husband shout. I look up, my cries slowing a bit.

"Kirito, what are you doing?" I ask, sniffling.

"If I'm fast enough, I might be able to use the GM account to access the system" He explains as his fingers quickly skim across the keyboard. Soon, however, he's blasted back away from the console. 

"Kirito!" I gasp, rushing over to him, "Are you ok, love?" He just takes my hand and places an item in it. It was a small, teardrop shaped, blue jewel. "What is this?"

"The game was about to reject Yui's admin credentials, the only thing I could do was take her program and turn it into a game object" He explained, with a smile, "You're holding Yui's Heart." I look down at the item and give a teary smile. So she'll always be with us now.

"If this game is cleared, and this world ends, then what's going to happen to Yui?"

"Don't worry. I fixed it so Yui's data is saved in my NerveGear's local memory. When we get back, re-creating her the way she was isn't going to be easy. But if there's a way, we'll find it."

"Maybe I can convince my dad to create her Jarvis/Vision style" I mutter happily.

"Jarvis/Vision?"

"You know. The Marvel hero. Jarvis was Iron-Man's AI before they transferred his data into an artificial body, recreating him as Vision. That'd be awesome if we could do that with Yui!"

"Yeah." Kirito then stood up and lent me a hand, "Let's go explain everything to Yulier and Thinker. I'm sure they're worried."

"Right. By the way, there is one thing I'd like to do before we leave."

 _~Skippy!~_  
"GET BACK HERE YOU LOUSY SON OF A-" A practically girly scream cut me off as I chased Kibaou around the Town of Beginnings with a lit Dark Repulsor and my blue fire-sword. "YOU COWARD! COME BACK AND FIGHT ME LIKE THE MAN WE KNOW YOU AREN'T!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Me: So my friend just registered for Archive of Our Own and hopefully his invitation will come in on monday so we can start our crossover. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Review and Enjoy!**

 _ **November 5, 2024**_

I was playing with a small flame in my hand as I waited for Kirito to come back with dinner. Every time he goes fishing, however, he usually fails...My poor husband…Soon, however, my husband enters the house with an older guy following, "Mars! I got dinner and a guest!"

"Eh?!"

 _~Skippy!~_

"That was an amazing meal!" The man, who I found out is called Nishida, praised. Apparently he's been depressed that he couldn't have fish with soy sauce, so Kirito said we'd let him have some if he shared the fish he caught. "I had no idea you can get soy sauce in this world!"

"Actually, it's my friend's recipe. She spent the last year figuring out combinations for sauces, and she shared them with me. You can take some home if you'd like." 

"Really?! Ma'am, my tastebuds bow down before you!"

"Well, I'm glad you liked it and I'll pass the praise to my friend. By the way, how high is your fishing skill? I'm asking because Kirito is a failure at it."

Kirito growled at me while Nishida laughed, "Well, maybe the lakes around here are just too hard, ever think about that?!"

"Actually that's not true" Nishida stated, so I give my husband a smug look and he huffed with a pout. "As far as fishing goes, the only lake that's tough to catch anything in, is the big one you were fishing in today."

"What?!" I laugh at my husband's misfortune, "Why would someone design it like that?!"

"Yes good question!" Nishida exclaimed, making both of us pause, "That lake is actually the home of, the King of all Fish!"

"Seriously?!" Me and Kirito ask, only he was disbelieving and I was excited. How awesome would it be to catch and fight that thing! It must be huge!

"Yep. Old pals. I've had him on the end of my hook quite a few times. But he's so strong, he yanks the pole out of my hands every time." I let out a small squeal. Now I really wanna fight it! "I was wondering. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

 _~Skippy!~_

Kirito was laying in our bed practicing his 'fishing pole switch' as I put on my nightgown. "I don't mind helping the guy out, but how am I supposed to do a switch move with a fishing pole."

"If anyone can do it, it's you" I wave him off, leaning over and turning the light off before crawling over and laying on him. His chest is now my pillow. Mwahaha! "What are you going to do with it if you catch it?"

"Can we even keep something like that?" I hum and snuggle into him happily, "He was pretty cool though."

"I was surprised when you brought him home with no warning," I tell him, "Isn't it funny? How people are living normal lives in this world? And since we're the ones on the front lines, they've become our responsibility, haven't they?"

"Before we teamed up, my main focus was only my own survival."

"And now everyone is counting on you. Talk about pressure huh?" I grin jokingly. 

"Yeah," He agreed, before fingering Yui's Heart, which I had made into a necklace so I can keep her with me all the time. "I promised to save everyone. That's something to live up to."

"They'll understand if we take off for tonight" I say, resting my head in the crook of his neck.

 _~Skippy!~_

I was covered up so no one would recognize me, while Kirito was looking rather annoyed at my side. He still didn't understand the whole 'King of the Fish' thing. "Can you believe how many people showed up?" The place was crowded and there were banners being held up cheering Nishida on.

"Well, here we go! Thanks for your patience everyone! Here comes today's main event!" Cheers sounded from everyone, while Nishida turned his attention to my husband, "Kirito, let's catch us a fish!"

"Sure…"

"Well aren't you excited" I remark sarcastically, and he just brushed me off. Nishida takes out what looks like a baby lizard, much to my horror. I've always been an animal person and, is it crying?! NO!

"How big is this thing supposed to be anyway?" My husband asked boredly, while I sneakily try to take the lizard away. Nishida attaches it to his pole and throws it out to the lake, as I failed to get it.

"That poor baby!" I cry, much to my husband's confusion. The entire crowd was silent as we waited. And waited. Until Nishida's pole bends slightly. My husband walks forward curiously.

"Uh, shouldn't you reel it in?" He asked.

"Not yet" Nishida told him. And we continued to wait once more. Until the pole bends more noticeably. "Now!" Nishida quickly places the pole in Kirito's hand and moves back.

"Uh, switch?" He muttered, before being pulled forward. He was about to go over the edge, but got a grip before that happened. "Damn it! You little…" Kirito starts to run back off the dock, pulling the fish with him, and I notice a large shadow moving towards the surface.

"Hey, it's coming up!" I exclaim happily, following the crowd to the edge as we watch. However, we all start running further inland as we realize that the monstrous fish was about to flash forward.

"W-where are you going?! Hey!" My husband cried in a panic, before the line snapped and he fell onto his back. He raced forward on the dock, obviously not realizing the same as us.

"Kirito! Watch out!" I call after him worriedly.

He stops and looks back at us, "For what?!" But then the large orange fish bursts to the surface and destroys the dock, standing perfectly fine on land. And my poor husband was laying underneath it, staring up in shock. it wasn't until the fish's eyes glow red and it screeches that he rushes back to us, hiding behind me as he glares, making me sweatdrop, "You ran away! You left me there to die!"

"Here it comes!" Nishida cried, and I move my attention to the beast, which was making it's way towards us. So it can walk on land. Interesting.

"Woah! It can run? It's like a crazy lungfish" my husband remarked.

"Kirito! This is serious! That thing's coming for us!" Nishida scolded, as I take notice of the horrified looks of the villagers. It was obvious none of them could fight it. "Hurry! Do something!"

"Yeah, I'm still thinking…."

"Should I take care of this?" I ask him, and he grin up at me.

"If you wouldn't mind, babe."

I sigh and walk forward, "Well, you're lucky I wanted to fight it anyway." I throw my cover-up off of my body and grab Dark Repulsor, which was tied against my side.

"Run while you still can!" Nishida called after me, but I ignore his warning as I unsheath Repulsor.

"Nah, she'll be fine" I heard Kirito wave him off. I listen to Nishida freak out as I wait for the fish to come closer. Once he is, I light Repulsor on fire and my blue fire-sword, which I gleefully named Blazefury, appears in my hand, before racing forward and cross-slicing it. I safely land on the ground by the lake as the giant fish shatters. And next thing I know, I'm surround by a group of men praising me.

"Nice job, honey!" I hear my husband call out as I try to wave the fans off.

 _~Skippy!~_

Kirito was sulking on our bed as I put on my uniform. Heathcliff had sent a message for us to return. "Come on. You've moped long enough already." He just moaned in response, "He did say he expected us back in two weeks. He's only a day off. Besides, if he needs us on the front lines now then something must've happened. At least hear what he has to say." Kirito gave another moan and I sigh with a shake of my head, before crawling over to him, "Come on mister sulky. We gotta go!" He rolled over and wrapped his arm around my waist, moaning into my lap. "What is up with you?"

"Nothing" he groaned, getting off of me.

I sigh, "Geez. If I didn't know any better, I'd say your were a woman PMSing." 

"No funny" he groaned.

"You at least acting like it" I mutter, moving off the bed. But I squeak when I feel something on my backside. I flush red and gape at Kirito, who gave me a perverse grin.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love your outfit?" I responded with a punch to his face.

"PERVERT!"

 _ **November 7, 2024**_

"The recon team was wiped out?!" Kirito exclaimed after Heathcliff explained why he called us back.

"They were scouting for the upcoming boss fight. It was a party of 20 members taken from 5 different guilds. 10 of them reached the center of the room, then the boss appeared. And that's when the entrance closed, cutting them off from the rest of the party." 

"It was an anti-crystal zone" I mutter.

"Precisely. And it couldn't have been more than five minutes or so when the door finally opened. The room was empty, there wasn't any trace left behind of the 10 soldiers. Or the boss" Heathcliff explained, much to our horror, "Now more than ever, everyone's top priority is to beat the boss. We'll launch an attack with the largest group we can assemble."

"You can count on us to fight with you" My husband stated determinedly, "But, one thing needs to be clear. Mars' safety is my priority. If things start to get risky in there, I'm gonna to protect her over the others. That's not negotiable."

"A person with something to protect is a strong ally to have. I'm expecting a good fight from you."

 _~Skippy!~_

"So we gotta wait for three more hours, huh? What'cha wanna do till then?" I ask my husband while we wait in an empty room. I was sitting on the table while Kirito leaned against the wall. I look over at him curiously. "Now what's wrong?"

"I want to ask you something. But I don't want you to get mad at me" He said. Well that's never a good start…. "Instead of going to the boss fight, could you please stay here?"

Called it. "Why the heck would you even think of asking that?" 

"We can't use teleport crystals in the room. So there's no telling what could happen. I'm scared. If anything happened to you, I-"

"So you want me to just stand by and let you put yourself at risk?" I mutter, hoping off the table and stalking up to the idiot, "Do you have any idea what I'd do if you died? Huh? I'd never forgive myself for staying back! I already lost Sachi, and the rest of our old guild! I can't lose you too! I might just go insane if you leave me here alone!"

"I'm sorry...All I really want to do is just grab you and run away." He took my hands and looks at me with desperate eyes, "I don't care if we make it back to the real world. I just want to live with you, in our little cottage in the woods."

"That'd be nice. But we have family and friends back in the real world waiting for us to wake up. Just like everyone else in this game. We can't just forget them and leave, ya know?"

"And us?"

"We'll find each other. We'll go on real dates. And we'll even get married in the real world too!" I hug my poor husband tightly, "Is this why you were upset earlier?"

"Maybe…."

"Idiot," "Hey!" "You could've told me before. You could've gotten this off your chest much earlier. Virtual or not, I'm still your wife. We don't keep quiet about things like that." Kirito just responded by pulling me closer to him.

 _~Skippy!~_

Me and Kirito arrive at the gate point where everyone was to meet for the boss fight, and we make our way through. "How much you wanna bet all the stares are because you're a beater?"

"How much you wanna bet all the stares are because I'm walking with the popular Flame Queen, who also happens to be my wife?"

"Touche."

"Mars!" A familiar call sounded, as arms wrap around me.

"Asuna!"

"Don't forget about us!" Klein and Agil walk over.

"No way! You guys are coming too?" Kirito asked curiously.

"Is that the best you got?" Agil retorted, "'No way!' Man, I shut my shop down to come up here and help get this done! Player you're looking at a player who is as philanthropic as they come."

"Well, seeing as you're so 'philanthropic', you're not gonna mind if we take you off the drop list" Kirito responded.

"Hey now! Let's not be too hasty, man!" Me, Klein, and Asuna all start laughing until the teleport platform glows once more, revealing Heathcliff and some other KOB members. It was as though the place went silent (then again, it was quiet when me and Kirito arrived until our friends came over) as we watch them walk towards the gateway. Heathcliff help up a crystal and commanded the corridor to open, before we all followed after his lead. The moment we passed the gate, I instantly felt shivers go up my spine.

"Such a bad vibe" I mutter, rubbing my arms a bit. Kirito nodded in agreement as everyone prepared to fight the boss, equipping different items.

"Is everyone ready?" Heathcliff called out, taking lead as always. "The Knights of the Blood Oath will be up front, distracting the boss and blocking its attacks. In the meantime, the rest of you have to stay sharp and figure out it's attack patterns. I won't lie, this battle will be hard. But I have faith that we can and will prevail. For our day of liberation!" The crowd let out a cheer and I glanced at my husband, who was very tense. I gently take ahold of his clenched hand with a soft smile.

"Everything is going to be fine. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you. Just be sure to protect me too, ok?" I tease.

"Yeah" he replied, with a small peck to my cheek, "You know I will." The door slowly starts to open as everyone gets into a battle stance. My husband takes out his two sword, while I take Dark Repulsor and Blazefury out, "Don't die on me guys." 

"Same to you" Klein retorted.

"I'm gonna make a fortune off today's drops. No way I'm gonna die and miss out on that" Agil proclaimed proudly. Aw, we all know he's just a big softie and uses his money to help low leveled players.

"Forward to battle!" Heathcliff commanded as the doors rested open. We all run inside, ready to fight, but the doors close and everything was still quiet.

"Nothing's happening. Where is it?" I hear one player mutter. However, Asuna soon calls out to everyone, having used her hearing skill.

"It's on the ceiling!" Everyone look up to see a large skeletal monster that resembled a centipede-spider mix.

"Skull…"

"Reaper?" My husband finished for Klein. The damned thing had five health bars too!

"Stay away from it! Spread out!" I hear Heathcliff order as the monster makes it way down. We all hurry away and Kirito called out to two players who were frozen in fear. They tried to run towards us, but Skull Reaper just swung at them, making both shatter. I stare at the monster in horror as the room glows bright red. Just...Just one hit?! I barely took notice of Klein voicing my thoughts.

"Man, we are so dead!" Agil exclaimed.

The monster raced towards one group and almost got one player, but Heathcliff beat it in time to block the hit. However, Skull Reaper just used its other claw to kill the player. Kirito ran ahead towards one player the monster was aiming for and blocked it. Heathcliff hurried after him and blocked the other claw, while I slammed my two weapons onto the monster. "If we block it together we have a chance."

"Yeah" My husband nodded, before the three of us ran forwards, Kirito shouting out orders, "Me and Mars will take care of the scythe arms, everyone else flank it and attack!" That got people moving, and everyone started attack, with me, Heathcliff, and Kirito blocking the arms. But even if we all were fighting, the thing barely took any damage!

I follow Klein's example and attack from underneath with both flamed weapons. I was glad to see that the monster gained a burn status, but even that didn't hurt it much.

Heathcliff wasn't kidding when he said this fight was going to be hard.


	15. Chapter 15

**Me: Just got back from my friend's house. We're working on a comic together, so we got of that done before going to the park with our other friends to play ninja, knockout, and etc. And then almost died because one of our friends decided to turn left in a right turn only lane….Needless to say we all yelled at him after hearing the tires screech. I LIVED! HAHA! Anyway, here I present the last chapter for SAO! Not the end of the story! Just this part! I'll be back for ALO tomorrow! So, Review and Enjoy please!**

We've been fighting the monster for what seemed like a lifetime, but it was more of an hour or two. Thankfully, I took notice that it's last health bar was near the end of the red zone, "Commander!" I point at it's HP and Heatcliff gave the order for everyone to attack one last time. We follow his command and soon enough, Skull Reaper shatters, with the giant white letters greeting our sight. But instead of cheering, everyone just collapsed in exhaustion.

"How many did we lose?" I barely heard Klein ask. I peek back at my husband, who opened his window tiredly.

"Fourteen of us died."

"Fourteen..." I mutter, "And we still have 25 levels left. How are we gonna do that? We barely won here!" I let out a tired sigh and rub my forehead. This is too much. Especially since we keep losing players on the front lines, due to death or just lost hope! However, I'm brought out of my thoughts by my husband, who stood up. "What's wrong?" But he ignores me and races forward with his sword towards Heathcliff, who was just as surprised as everyone else. Much to our shock, though, a familiar purple shield blocked the attack before a sign popped up, the words 'Immortal Object' flashing in all of our eyes. Just like Yui. I stand up and make my way beside my husband, who was glaring at Heathcliff. "You're an immortal object?!"

"The reason why the commander's HP never hits yellow is because he's protected by the system," Kirito explained. I hear some gasps from the other players as I just stare. B-but Heathcliff is our commander. Our friend. Right? "Ever since day one, something's always bugged me about this whole thing. I was always wondering, 'Where is he hiding while he watches us and controls everything in this world?' But the answer was simple. It's basic psychology. It's so simple every kid knows it. There's nothing more boring than watching someone else play an RPG. Isn't that right, Akihiko Kayaba?"

My...uncle?

He didn't even try to deny it! "Just for my curiosities sake, would you mind telling me how you figured it out?"

"The first time I knew something was up was during our duel. When you turned the tables on me. That move was way too fast."

"Yes, I thought so" He agreed, "It was a mistake to think that would go unnoticed by you. But you were so strong and so fast, the only choice I had was to engage the systems assist-mode. I admit, my niece made a fine choice in a partner. Yes. I am Akihiko Kayaba. And now that my identity is revealed it should make no surprise that I am also the final boss on the top floor."

How...How dare he?! I knew my uncle was somewhere inside the game, but to be one of the most trusted players?! The leader of the top guild?! The man I trusted my life with?! He was acting as my mentor! As….my uncle….

"So the strongest player in the whole game, ends up being the final boss. Kinda cliche, isn't it?" Kirito retorted, lightly grabbing my arm as he noticed I was about to rushed forward in my anger. How could he do this to me?!

"Actually I kinda like that angle" My uncle shrugged, "One thing's for sure, I always knew you'd be the one standing before me at the very end, with my sweet niece right at your side. You know, Dual-Wielding is a skill given to the best player, the one with the fastest reaction time. He is the hero of this story. The one who rises up to challenge the demon king. And the skill my niece had achieved was always hers to begin with. It was created specifically for her, and I'm not surprised at how well she handles it. But the power both of you display exceeded my expectations. I guess the unexpected twists are what make MMORPG's so thrilling to play."

One player took their anger to the next level and went to attack my uncle, with me silently cheering him on, but uncle just opens his window and the player glitches, falling to the ground, paralyzed. It wasn't long before everyone except Kirito and uncle were paralyzed, even myself. Though my husband caught before I hit the ground.

"What's the plan now? You going to kill everyone here and cover it up or something?"

"Of course not," My uncle replied, "That wouldn't be sporting of me, now would it? I have a better idea. I'm going to head to the top floor and wait for all of you there. I'll be inside the Ruby Palace." My uncle chuckled and look at his previous followers, "It's a shame I have to leave you all so soon. I've spent lots of time developing the Knight of the Blood Oath and other elite players. Oh well. You're all strong, so I'm sure you'll reach me, eventually. But before I go." Uncle turns back to my husband, who was all but trying to hide me from view, as he glared at my uncle, "Kirito. I feel like you deserve some kind of reward for discovering my identity. So, I'll give you a chance."

"A chance for what?"

"To fight me one-on-one. Right here, right now. Oh, and my immortality will be deactivated. Defeat me and your clear the game. And all of the players will be able to logout from this world. No strings attached. What do you say?"

My idiot husband was actually contemplating it, but I know how this was going to end, "Don't, Kirito." My uncle created the stupid game! He knows all the moves and attack modes! He's the strongest fighter here, even without the immortality!

"I have to" Kirito finally said, much to my chagrin, "Ok then. Let's finish it." He turned his attention down at me, "I'm sorry, but I can't turn away if it means ending this."

"If you die, I swear I'll never forgive you" I mutter darkly.

"No, I won't die. I'll win." I just nod. It's not that I don't believe in his abilities. It just that I know my uncle is stronger. Unfortunately. Kirito gently places me on the ground before taking out his swords and walking ahead. I use the last amount of energy I have to move my body to the side so I could watch. It was very difficult though. "Agil, thanks for supporting all the players in the game. Yeah, I knew. So did Mars. You act like you're all about the money, but I know you spent every penny you had on helping the intermediate players level up. Klein, I'm sorry I bailed on you that day. I think about it all the time."

"Don't you dare apologize to me right now! I'm not forgiving you until you buy me a meal on the other side!"

"Understood. And Asuna? I'm not planning on going down easily, but if I die, just take care of Mars for me." So he admits he's going to fail, just not at the first moment. That idiot….

"You don't even have to ask" She replied with tears.

My uncle changed his status to a mortal object and the fight begun. They moved so fast I barely registered them. It was just a flurries of attacks, mostly coming from my husband. But I do know that Kirito was going to lose. And I refused to accept it. I kept trying to move my body despite the paralysis, and succeeded in making my hand twitch. I continued my efforts before taking notice of Kirito's sword breaking from the tip, much to his shock.

My uncle raised his sword up and it started to glow red, "Farewell, Kirito."

"NO!"

It was by pure willpower that I was able to force my body up and run ahead in between the oncoming weapon and my husband. And the next thing I knew was pain from my shoulder diagonally across my chest. I could practically feel my HP dropping to zero. Is this how all other players who died felt?

I look up at Kirito was I notice my body glowing, just as other dead players did. Kirito was just staring at me with horror displayed on his face. "N-no. Y-you can't…"

"I told you I'd make sure nothing bad happens to you." I try to smile, but I'm sure it looked more like a grimace. The last thing I hear before my eyes closed was him shouting my name.

 _~Skippy!~_

My eyes open and I look around in surprise. I was standing on a transparent floor above the clouds as a beautiful sunset turned the sky orange. Is this...heaven? I look around curiously, before looking below to see Aincrad. It was collapsing and crumbling as it was destroyed. My uncle most likely programed it to delete all data once the game was cleared.

However, I soon spot a familiar back nearby, and carefully call out to it, "Kirito?" I swear if this is a mirage or something, I'll scream. But he turned and smiled sadly.

"Sorry. I guess I ended up dying too." 

"You're such an idiot." Instead of the usual 'hey', he just gave a small smile and shrugged. I run over to him and give my husband a tight hug. I guess we really will be together forever. Just as he wanted. Kirito placed a small kiss on my lips before looking around curiously.

"So, where are we?"

"Above a crumbling Aincrad" I told him, pointing below. Before seeing a familiar place falling as well, "And there goes our cottage…"

"What a shame." We just watch the place slowly be destroyed. I do admit, the sky was amazing, despite being fake.

"Quite a view, isn't it?" We jump and look over to see my uncle watching nearby. And not as Heathcliff, but as the uncle I used to follow around as a little girl. The anger that had filled my very being when he revealed himself as Heathcliff disappeared. I don't even know why. I was completely calm near him now. Is it because I'm dead and there's no point in being angry with him because he's also dead? Oh well.

"Akihiko Kayaba…"

"At Argus headquarters, the SAO mainframe is in a room five floors below street level. And right now, it's deleting all the data from its drives. In about ten minutes, everything in this world will disappear forever."

"What about the players?"

"You needn't worry about them. The 6,147 players who survived the game up till now were logged out a few seconds ago."

"And what about the 4,000 people who died?"

"They'll never return. In any world, real or virtual, once you're dead, you're gone."

"What was the point?" I ask for the first time, "Why would you do this? I used to look up to you. You used to be my hero. And then you went and trapped thousands of people in a death game…"

"It's been so long that I've forgotten the reason" he muttered, "How strange. Even before I developed the system for the full-dive environment I've dreamed of this. A castle in a world that wasn't governed by our laws and restrictions. I poured my life into making that world a reality. I don't remember how old I was when I became obsessed with it. I wanted to leave the Earth. To fly to that castle. I wanted that more than anything else." Uncle let out a small chuckle, "It's funny though. Now that I think about it, I never really started working on floating castle until someone very important to me asked about it. It was someone my brother introduced me to." Uncle glanced over at me with a sort of loving look in his eyes. Is he...talking about me? "He practically forced me into the hospital himself and all but shoved the newly born child into my arms. And she smiled. As she grew up, she would ask me about my castle constantly. I even drew a few pictures for her. And she was so amazed too. She kept asking me when she was going to be able to see it in person. She was so excited. I promised her that I'd make sure our dream became a reality."

"So...You're basically saying all this is my fault" I mutter, annoyed. He just laughed.

"Not at all. You just inspired me to make the game. I don't really know why I made it a death game. I suppose I was just curious. Everyone always said I didn't care too much about other people. I guess they were right. I don't really feel guilty about this either. Well, not about the others. You on the other hand," Uncle looked at me once more, "I don't think I'll forgive myself for killing you with my own hand."

"Did you honestly expect me to just let you kill my husband?"

"Not really. You must've gotten that from your mother. Then again, my brother has those sort of tendencies himself. Perhaps you inherited an abundance of it due to the both of them." Uncle shrugged a bit.

"Dad is going to be disappointed too. He wanted to kill you himself." 

"Guess I was lucky then" Uncle laughed, "Before I forget, congratulations on clearing the game. Well then, I should probably get going now."

He turn to leave, but I raced forward and caught him in a hug first, "Just so you know, even though I doubt I will ever forgive for what you've done, I love you, Uncle Aki. You're still my favorite uncle."

"I'm your only uncle."

"Exactly." I let him go and soon, he disappears in a small cloud of wind.

That was our goodbye call. We used to say that every time he had to leave after a visit, and it just stuck. And...well I don't think I could ever hate him either. Hate the things he's done, sure. But my uncle himself? No. He's still my family, the uncle I grew up loving and admiring.

Soon, me and Kirito sat at the edge of the platform watching the castle crumble below. "By the way, I don't think you ever told me your real name in all the time we've been together. Your age and everything else, yeah, but never your name."

"You never told me either" He retorted, "But the name is Kazuto. Kazuto Kirigaya."

"I just thought you knew. My family is famous after all" I shrugged, "Anyways, I'm Rei Kayaba."

Kiri-Kazuto snorted, "Seems like your TV obsession is spot on!"

"Shut up!" I then sigh, "Figures I'd die on my birthday. Stupid bad luck, and even stupider past life who screwed over the gods to make them hate me!" My husband laughed at me. He's so mean! But instead of arguing with him, I just lay my head on his shoulder as the last of the world is destroyed, "I love you."

"I love you too."

 _~Skippy!~_

I weakly blink my eyes open and blearily look around. It, was white. And smelled like a hospital. I lift up my hand to see it practically skin and bone. Which makes sense since we've been in a game for two years and had to survive on IVs the entire time. But, wait...I'm supposed to be dead. Right? Uncle Aki said that once someone dies, they can't come back! Maybe, maybe it's a prize for winning? But that would mean... Kirito!

I groan slightly as I struggle up to sit and slowly take the NerveGear off my head. Then the door practically slammed open to reveal my parents and our maid, Yuki. "Rei!" My mom cried, rushing over and squeezing me in a hug. I moan in slight pain, seeing how weak my body is and how tight her hug is.

"Hi mom" I smile softly, "Dad. Yuki. I missed you guys!"

"Oh sweetie! I thought you'd never wake up! How could Akihiko do something like this?!" Mom sobbed only loosening her grip a tiny bit at dad's request. I just shrugged. I still don't understand, and, apparently, neither didn't he.

"I swear, when I get my hands on him," My dad started, but I cut him off.

"He's already dead." The three of them looked a bit shocked, dad more so than others. Which was understandable as Uncle Aki was his own blood, "That was the deal. The game would be cleared if someone beat him in a duel, which was to the death. My...game partner, Kirito, was the one to beat him." I decided to wait until after I actually find him to explain our real relationship to my family. After all, if I didn't wait, my dad probably would've hunted him down before I could…

"Well, we should remember to thank him. But first, you need to get some actual food and nutrients into your body."


	16. Chapter 16

**Me: Hey guys. So, I'm not feeling very good, but I'm updating anyway to show you my dedication to this story and to you my lovely readers! So Review and Enjoy!**

It's been two months since SAO was cleared. And it took two months for me to be back to my original state, after a lot of rehabilitation and a strict diet on my mother's orders, who was obviously my own doctor. I haven't had the time to look for my hus-boyfriend. I still haven't gotten used to calling him my boyfriend here. Now that I think about it, I haven't even told my parents about our relationship. Who knows how they'll react?!

I found my friends. It turns out they were never in the game at all. Mara, Venus in the game world, had convinced them to skip out of the game to prepare a surprise party for my birthday. They were horrified when they found out about SAO and visited regularly.

After the two months, Mom finally deemed me well enough to be discharged and I wanted to immediately set to work on finding Kiri-Kazuto. Grrr. I gotta stop using game terms! Being stuck in SAO for two years really changes habits. I got into martial arts because I couldn't handle not fighting any more. I just got so used to it!

Anyway, unfortunately, I was busy handling my new company. Since Uncle Aki died, the company was left to me. Which ended up putting me in a lot of debt. Turns out people don't like it when a game company traps their family and friends in said game. It doesn't help that there are still about three hundred players still trapped for some reason. It doesn't actually make sense since there's nothing for them to be trapped in. Anyway, we got a lot of lawsuits and I needed to merge my company with another. It took forever, but I finally convince one to help me out. And, to my happy surprise, it belonged to Asuna's family!

Me and Asuna shrieked when we saw one another and did a little happy dance with one another, much to the confusion of the nearby people, including our families. But they understood once we explained our friendship in SAO. She also almost gave away me and Kazuto's relationship, but I jumped on her before she could.

When our companies joined, I also met someone who I would've prefered to never have contact with. Sugou Nobuyuki. He gives me these strange vibes. And I notice a few looks when he thinks I'm not looking. Though I'm happy with the products they made while we were stuck in-game. There's the Aurasphere, a safer version of the NerveGear as people are too scared of it now so we took it off the market, and Alfheim Online. It was based on SAO, and it was turned into a fairy-fied game (Alfheim _does_ mean Land of the Fairies after all). Though, I don't really do much for Alfheim Online. It's only Sugou and his own team. I just gave them ideas for the game.

Once the companies were taken care of, however, I started searching for my boyfriend. It wasn't that hard though. I already knew his sister does Kendo, so I just looked up teen girls with the last name Kirigaya who do Kendo. Turns out Suguha is a champion. So, I got directions to her house by hacking into their files.

Which is how I ended up standing in front of their house, trying to work up the courage to knock on the door. Maybe I should come back later. He might be busy. No! You waited two months already! Just, knock on the door and stop being a wimp! I shakingly lift my fist up and try to knock, but my hand won't move...I use my other hand to grab the shaking one and force it onto the door two times. Yay! I did it! Wait. No!

During my internal freak out, the door was opened and I just now notice a slightly shorter girl answer and was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "...Hi?"

I jolt up a bit and give a nervous smile, "Hello. Is Kazuto Kirigaya here?" 

"Uh, big brother!" She called out into the house, "Some girl is here asking about you!"

"Wh-" A familiar teen then comes out of a room further back, but pauses when he notices me. "Rei?"

"Hey" I greet dumbly. I didn't plan this far…

However, I didn't need to plan anything as the next thing I know, I'm being spun around making me squeal a bit while Kazuto laughed cheerfully. Once he stopped spinning me, he leaned down and kissed me. However, a voice made us jump apart in embarrassment. We look over to see an older woman looking at us curiously with the younger girl looking very...upset?

 _~One explanation later~_

"I see. So you two were lovers in Sword Art Online" the woman, who I found out was his aunt/adoptive mother, said after we explained. So, one family down, one to go…

"Pretty much" Kazuto told his aunt and cousin. Suguha looked depressed for some reason, but I shrugged it off, "Anyway, we're gonna go out for a bit. I'll be back later, k?"

"Alright. You two have fun now!"

 _~Skippy!~_

Me and Kazuto were sharing a bowl of ice cream in a small cafe he took me to for our first date in the real world. We were talking about how things have been in the two months we've been separated. He told me how he met with Klein and Agil, whose real names were Tsuboi and Andrew, and I told him about Asuna. Currently, though, I was complaining about Sugou. "He reminds of what a rapist would act like! I swear, I once saw him try to sniff my hair!"

"He sounds like one" Kazuto remarked, "Want me to mess him up for you?"

"Funny." 

"I'm serious. I'm not going to let some creep harass my girl. Only I'm allowed be a pervert towards you." He said the last part so seriously I could help but laugh. Kazuto cracked a proud grin when I did.

"Yeah, sure. Only you" I scoff. You'd think he's stop after all the times I've punched him for being a pervert. Oh well. "Anyway, I have to 'play nice' in front of the adults, and then complain to Asuna when we're alone." 

"Just get a restraining order."

"I would, but he contributes a lot to the company. I don't want them to fire a good employee and risk everything, even if I don't like the guy."

"I don't think that's very smart, but whatever. Next time he bugs you, just tell me. I'll sick Suguha on him."

I scoff again, "Sure. Send your younger cousin to beat people up for you."

"She's a Kendo champion! She can handle it!"

 _~Skippy!~_

I decided to finally introduce Kazuto to my parents, which is why we were in front of my house, me unlocking the door. "Now, don't panic when you meet my dad. He might freak out when we tell him we're dating."

"Yeah. Ok." My poor boyfriend tried to act brave, but the pale face and fear-filled voice gave him away. I give him a supporting kiss on the cheek in an effort to comfort him, before entering the house. My sweet little Suichi ran up barking happily. "What is that? A rat?" I slap the back of his head for that. "Ow! What'd I do?!"

"Don't insult my baby" I huff, picking the small maltese up, "Mom! Dad! I'm home and I brought someone to meet you!"

"Dining room!" my mom called out. I take Kazuto's hand and pull him to the room, hiding my own nervousness. What if my parents forbid us from dating anymore?! What if dad drags him away for a 'talk'?! What if dad kills him?! "Who's this dear?"

"This is Kazuto Kirigaya" I introduce, "My…." Do it, do it, do it! Tell them! Just say, 'This is my,' "Game partner and best friend." Dang it….Kazuto gave me a curious and confused look as my parents greet him with smiles. My dad firmly shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure finally meeting you! You saved our girl, and everyone else, after all! Shame it came at the price of my brother" Dad sighed. Kazuto gave a weak smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you as well." I notice mom eyeing the two of us and I realized our hands were still together, so I quickly let go. I'm so weak….

"So, you're just friends, huh?" I could tell from mom's voice that she didn't believe us, but dad remained oblivious apparently.

"Heh heh…" 

_~Skippy!~_

"Why'd you tell them we're just friends?" Kazuto questioned as we made our way back to his house.

"I don't know" I groan, "I freaked out! You don't know my dad the way I do! He's overprotective and turns into a demon when I bring up boys! The only reason he didn't do the same with you is because you're the one who cleared the game!"

"Ok," He replied unsurely, "But we gotta tell them eventually. I just know keeping it a secret isn't going to end well."

"Nah. You just worry too much."

 _~Skippy!~_

"What do you mean she won't wake up?! How is that possible?!" I exclaim, shaking Asuna' father in my panic. Asuna had decided to use her NerveGear again to try Alfheim Online, but won't wake again. Sugou and his team were trying to figure out what was going on as she's the only one for it to happen so far. It's assumed that the NerveGear has some leftover bugs from SAO, which trapped her once more.

"Don't worry, Rei" Sugou assured, placing a hand on my shoulder, cue unnoticable shiver from me, "We'll find a way to wake her up once more. You just worry about the companies with Mr. Yuuki."

I huff and spin on my heel, stalking out of the room. As if I'm just going to stand aside and let my friend be stuck in the game. I'm going back in to find her, whether they like it or not!

 _~Third POV!~_

Kazuto raced to the hospital as fast as his legs could carry. Mrs. Kayaba had called him with the news. Rei was trapped inside a game again. They didn't understand how or why, but they did know that the same happened to Asuna as well. The two girls were placed in Mrs. Kayaba's hospital so she could care for them with the players that never woke up.

He quickly made his way to the room Rei was placed in and froze at the sight of her unconscious body lying silently on hospital bed. Kazuto slowly walked to chair and sat, gently holding his girlfriend's hand as the monitor beside them beeped slowly.

How could this have happened? She was completely fine the day before. He knew she had horrible luck, but this…

The door opened and Kazuto let go of her hand, standing up. It was Rei's father, holding a bouquet of flowers. The teen made a mental note to get as many flowers for Rei as he could. She always did like roses. "Kazuto. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here. I'm surprised at how fast you got here."

"Hello Mr. Kayaba."

"You can visit whenever you'd like" Mr. Kayaba went on, placing the flowers on the bedside table, "I know she'd be glad if she knew." The two of them were silent for a moment, before another pair of footsteps entered.

"Sir."

"I don't believe you have met just yet" Mr. Kayaba said, "This is Sugou. He's the director of Rei and the Yuki's R&D division."

"I'm Noyubuki Sugou. It's a pleasure." Kazuto clenched his fist, which went unnoticed. So this was the man Rei was complaining about before. How dare he come visit her in the hospital when she made it clear to him that she hated his guts! But Kazuto refrained from saying anything since her father was there, and he didn't know about Rei's hatred.

"Kazuto Kirigaya" He said, barely keeping himself from gritting his teeth and growling. The guy's fake smile just ticked him off.

"You're _the_ Kirito?! It's an honor! You're a hero! Rei talks about you all the time!" Sugou repled happily, shaking his hand. Kazuto would've prefered breaking the man's hand, rather than shaking it.

Mr. Kayaba sighed and looked at the clock, "I'm sorry, but I have some work I need to get done. My wife will be in soon to check on her. Kazuto, take care." The teen nodded politely as the man left the room, before turning his attention to his girlfriend's lone body.

Sugou made his way to the other side of the hospital bed, "I heard you and Rei were lovers in the SAO game. Is that true?"

"So what?" Kazuto growled, growing more and more annoyed with the older man. The moment Kayaba left, his personality turned a 180.

"What a pity. That's going to make one complicated relationship between you and I" Sugou sighed, leaning over Rei and looked ready to touch her hair. But Kazuto's hand shot out and gripped it as he glared at the smirking man.

"Don't touch my girlfriend."

His smirk just grew, however, "Now how many people know that? I know for sure that her parents haven't been told. I overheard her complain about it to Asuna. Such a shame. And now that both girls are unconscious, there's no way for them to know otherwise."

"What are you talking about?"

"As I'm sure you know, Argus, the company Rei inherited, had to merge with RECT, who helped her with the lawsuits out of the kindness of their hearts. That was the first time I met her. Originally, I planned on it being Asuna, but when I realized I'd be working with _the_ Rei Kayaba, daughter of the famous surgeon and researcher _and_ niece of Akihiko Kayaba, I decided to change my plans. You see, her parents nor my own have any idea how much the two girls hate me. Which I am going to use to my advantage. I plan on tell our parents that I proposed to her, and she accepted. Of course, we can't be married legally until she turns eighteen next year, but that won't be a problem as long as she's still unconscious. Rei, and her company but that's besides the point, will be all mine." Kazuto grit his teeth and a small growl vibrated from his chest at the idea of this creep taking advantage of _his_ girlfriend.

Before he could argue against the horrid man, the door opened once more to reveal Rei's mother. She didn't look all that surprised by Kazuto's appearance and practically ignored Sugou as both moved away from the bed so the woman could work. "Hello Kazuto. I figured you'd be here." 

"Hello Ma'am."

"Call me Meiko. You did save my baby the first time. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine" She waved him off, before giving the other man a small dismissive glance, "Sugou."

Sugou, despite his well-hidden annoyance, bowed politely, "Pleasure seeing you again, Doctor, but I'm afraid I must leave for a meeting."

Meiko hummed and continued to work on her daughter's vitals as the man left, with Kazuto glaring at his leaving figure.


	17. Chapter 17

**Me: So I don't remember if I explained this before, but this will mostly focus on Rei's point of view during ALO, but I have a scene or two with Kirito and Asuna. Also, Rei has a different outfit than Asuna (since, ya know, she isn't Asuna) which is on Deviantart. Review and Enjoy!**

 _Rei's POV_

So...Things haven't gone exactly as planned. The moment I logged in and created my new account to find Asuna, the game glitched and I got trapped inside what was basically a giant golden bird cage wearing a revealing outfit. I kept my blue hair and purple eyes, as well as my purple color scheme, but still. The outfit was a bit much. I also had wings, which I was happy about. I had heard the game had a flight engine to make people feel like they were flying. Anyway, it wasn't long before a blonde man wearing green entered the cage with a stupid, familiar smirk.

It didn't take much to realize it was Sugou, especially since the voice was the same. Plus he revealed himself as much when I accused him, but he insists on calling him Oberon, King of the Fairies. And, much to my annoyance, he keeps calling me Titania, Queen of the Fairies.

I questioned, more like demanded answers from, him, but he left before he could when a message alert popped up. I spent the rest of the time trying to escape. I found out that, despite being trapped, I could open my window, but the inventory and the logout were closed off from my access. Turns out Sugou didn't erase my skill set when he trapped me. Maybe he forgot, or something, but whatever. It helps me out! My special skill, Fire Flame Sword, however, was locked up. But I soon found, I could still activate small flames. Doesn't help, but maybe if I train it enough….

Anyway, deciding it was better than nothing, I grip at the bars and try to shake them open. I only succeed in making the entire cage swing for a moment, which went me toppling over.

Wait a sec, is that another player?...Nah. Sugou stated that nobody could reach here, then again, Kirito would be able to make it. I hope he comes. He can help me kick Sugou's ass! But I get first dibs. If only I could figure out how to deplete his pain meter….That'd be awesome! Give him a light flick, make him feel utter pain! Mwahaha!

 _~Third POV!~_

Kazuto entered the cafe/bar that Andrew owned. He had sent the teen a message with a picture attached. It was blurry, but it resembled Rei far too much for him to ignore it. So, he immediately left his house and headed for the Dicey Cafe.

The first thing he noticed was the practically deserted inside, other than Andrew, who was cleaning some dishes, "What'd you do? Scare all the customers away?"

"Very funny. At night, it's off the hook in here. Make sure you bring Rei here when she wakes up" Andrew said. He found out the day before from Kazuto, who looked as though he had cried not that long before telling him, which Andrew understood perfectly. If it was his own wife, the lovely woman she was, he'd most likely react the same.

"So, what's the deal with that picture you sent?" Kazuto questioned, sitting at the bar.

Andrew placed the cup he was drying onto the counter and rummaged through some clutter. "That's gonna take some explaining. But first, check this out." He slid a game across the counter, which Kazuto caught. "It's an MMO for the Amusphere, the thing that replaced the NerveGear on the market."

"Yeah. Rei told me. It's a VRMMO like SAO. It came out a year ago, while everyone was still trapped, and soon became popular." 

"Yep. Alfheim Online, Land of the Fairies. It's pretty hard core, despite the cute title. Apparently, PKing is allowed and the skill-system is amazing. It's not level based, it's skill based. You've gotta use your skills over and over to improve them. And combat relies on your real life physical abilities. There's no sword skills either. It's basically SAO with magic. And the flight engine is awesome. I have no idea how you control it, but it's very popular."

"But what does Rei have to do with the game?" Waking her up was the only thing Kazuto could think of at the moment. Waking her up, and punching Sugou's lights out. 

Andrew then handed him the picture he sent earlier, "Look familiar?" 

"It looks like Rei" Kazuto muttered. 

"I figured you might say that." 

"Would you cut the crap! Where the heck is this?!"

"Alfheim Online. It was taken in the game." So...His girlfriend was stuck in another game? And not even three months after escaping SAO! They really gotta work on her luck. "Right in the middle is the World Tree. There's this legendary castle that sits on the top. Players are divided up into nine races, and each one is trying to be the first to reach the castle." 

"Why can't they just fly there?"

"It's been tried, but the game has a limit to how long you can stay airborne. So, this is what happened. These five players stacked up, bigger players on the bottom, and they tried launching themselves like a rocket. They didn't even make it past the lower branch, but you have to give them props for creativity. However, they did manage to snap a couple shots. And when they checked out the pics, they saw something weird." Andrew showed him another picture.

"A birdcage?"

"You could call it that. And after zooming in on it as far as they could, they saw her. It's blurry and for all we know, it could just be a NPC that happens to look like her. But then I saw the other picture." Andrew showed Kazuto the final photo. It was more zoomed than the other, but the same girl from before looked as though she was trying to shake the cage open with a frustrated expression. "And the first thing that came to mind was how that's exactly what Rei would do if she was trapped in a cage."

"It is. She'd be too angry at being caught to think about other ways to escape" Kazuto chuckled fondly at his in-game wife. The teen turned the gamebox over and read the back, but what caught his attention, was the company title. RECT was the company Sugou worked for. And Kazuto remembered a sly look in his eye when he said Rei was his. Could this be what he meant? Did he trap Rei in ALO and lock her in a cage? If so, then Kazuto was going to do more than punch out his lights. But first, he decided to rescue his girlfriend before taking care of the creep. "Can I borrow this software?"

"Sure, it's cool. You thinking about going?" Andrew didn't even have to ask to know that's exactly what Kazuto was going to do. He had a tendency to stubbornly do whatever he set his mind to, and if there was a chance his girl needed to be saved from another game, then he was going to do just that.

"I need to check it out for myself," Kazuto replied, before gaining a small smirk, "A game where you can die should be a big deal."

Andrew sighed and shook his head in exasperation. Just as stubborn as Rei he was, "Alright. And, don't worry, you can use what you have for the game. The Amusphere is just a NerveGear with better security."

"Well that's a relief."

Andrew held out his fist with a grin, "The battle's not over till it's over. Get her out and come back safe. I'll throw you guys the biggest party ever when you do."

Kazuto returned his grin and fistbump, "Whatever you say."

 _~Rei's POV!~_

I growl in frustration as I once again fail at opening the cage. I sigh and slouch in a chair, before playing with a small flame in my hand. It's almost time for Sugou's 'daily visit', so I can't train my skill just yet. But I've gotten to the point where I can turn my hand aflame, so it's a work in progress. I've also been working on my flying. I do laps around the cage, and I try to use my speed to knock the cage open. It doesn't work, and only ends up making me dizzy, but I won't give up, dangit! 

I make the fire disappear and once again ram into the bars, trying to squeeze through. Alright, I am getting way too desperate….I give a small shriek of anger and tightly grip the bars, glaring out of them. Stupid birds, stupid tree, stupid game, stupid fairies, stupid Sugou, stupid, stupid, stupid, stup-

"Right now, your face is more beautiful than anything, Titania." Grrrr, "The way you look like you want to kill anything and everything. It's so cute." GRRRR.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer" I grit out, not even sparing him a glance.

"Such cold words from such a pretty mouth" He replied, entering the cage, "Now have I ever laid a hand on you when you didn't want me to, Titania?"

"Yes!" I exclaim, referring to the many times he's fingered and smell my hair, the creep! "And stop calling me that! It's Rei! Rei, dammit! Now shut up and let me be, Sugou!" 

"You ruin the fun. In this world, I am Oberon the Fairy King! There isn't a player that wouldn't give everything to be the ruler of Alfheim! And you are Queen Titania, my breath-taking bride. What more could you ask for?"

"Freedom! Your death! Either is acceptable, but I'd prefer to have both!" 

"So cruel. As my queen, as my bride, when are you going to give your heart to me?"

"Never. Are you deaf as well as stupid?! The only things you will ever get from me are disgust and hatred!" I snap at him.

"You're a stubborn girl, I'll give you that," Sugou remarked, stalking over and trapping me against the bars, much to my chagrin. "But, you know, for awhile now, I've been thinking. Romance is nice and all, but it might be more fun," He took my chin and gave a smirk, making me wanna hurl, "If I just took you by force." OH HELL NO! The pervert tried to finger my lips, but I grabbed his hand and gave off a deadly glare with an evil aura growing around me. Thank you magic!

"Try to do that and I rip your arm off, as well as a very sensitive body part that makes you male."

"Oh, calm down, my dear. It was just a joke. I'd never really force myself on you" Sugou brushed me off, but I did notice a small twinge of fear in his eyes, no matter how hidden. I suppose that's there because he knows I'll find a way to do as much. And I will. As if I'm just going to let some creepy pervert take advantage of me! Kazuto may be a pervert, but he isn't a rapist! Besides, I know he's just a coward hiding behind the fact that he all but controls this game. "I don't have to. You'll start wanting me soon enough. I promise." Yeah. Good luck with that. As long as I have my husband (as I found that I have a hidden marriage status in my window, which only I could see apparently), I'm not going to move on to someone else anytime soon. Especially not this creep. Or is he thinking I'm gonna get Stockholm Syndrome? Pretty sure that's impossible with me, but I'll let him dream.

"Are you crazy?" I instead question as he moves away from me, much to my happiness. I don't even have to ask to know the answer. HELL YES!

"You won't be talking like that for much longer" Sugou stated, moving to the other side of the cage, "Right now, tens of thousands of players are enjoying this game. But none of them have a clue about the true potential of the full-dive system. Did you know that by expanding the brain's control regions, you could influence a person's thoughts, emotions, and memories?"

"But that's illegal!" I argue.

"That's where you're wrong. In fact, several countries are researching it as we speak." Whatever you say but that doesn't mean it's legal! "The only thing standing in the way is finding people to experiment on. But one day, I was watching the news, and there they were. Ten thousand ideal test subjects! Your uncle was a genius, but he was also a fool. All he wanted to use his technology for was a game. He couldn't see the potential in it! But I did. It wasn't too difficult to adjust the routers. The minute the SAO players were logged out, I just grabbed a few from the flow. Just like that, I had 300 of my very own test subjects. My research has taken great strides in the past two months. I've been developing a technology that sees memories as objects and uses them to control emotion. My work is almost finished now."

"..." I gape at him with a twitch in my eye, "I was wrong. You aren't crazy. You're absolutely insane! I thought my uncle was horrible with his own work, but you? You take the cake! What exactly do you plan on doing when it's finished, huh?!"

"I'm going to sell it off, of course. The only ones who knows about it is myself and a small team. An american corporation is eager to get their hands on it. And soon, I'm going to sell it and Argus to them, for as much as I can."

"And how exactly are you planning on getting Argus? It doesn't belong to you, and even if I lose ownership, RECT would be the one to take over, due to our combined companies."

"It's simple really. I convinced your father that we fell in love, and you agreed to marry me when you turned eighteen before your unfortunate accident. And the Yuuki's already consider me as part of their family. It won't take much to convince them to name me the heir. By the time we're married, both will be under my control."

Curse my dad's obliviousness. How can he be one of the top researchers and still be as stupid as to believe Sugou's lies?! "And by that time, I'll be out of this stupid game, and you'll be behind bars. If you're lucky that is."

"Haven't you figured it out yet? You're in the same boat as the other test subjects. I could alter your memories all I'd like, if I wanted to." Why that little- "I won't, of course. The last thing I want is for my feisty little queen to be a mere lifeless doll." A message alert popped up as I glare at the man, "Alright. I'm on my way." He turned back to me with a small smirk, before lifting a small stand of my hair and smelling it. I slap his hand away and back up so he couldn't do it anymore, "Next time we meet, I hope you'll be a little more submissive, Titania." He walked over to the gate and punched in the code, obviously doing it slowly to get on my nerves. He had blurred my view of it so I can't figure out the code.

The moment he left, however, I immediately set out to train my fire power. I suppose, if I wasn't trapped in this cage as 'Titania', I'd be a Salamander, the fire fairies. Heh. I wonder if they heard of SAO's Flame Queen. Oh well. I wonder if meditation helps our magic.


	18. Chapter 18

**Me: HIYA! I am back with another chapter! Only three more to go! Woop woop! Anyway, Review and Enjoy please!**

I'm happy to admit that I managed to put my entire arm on fire. Turns out meditation helps a lot. However, at the moment, I am currently glaring at Sugou from the other side of the bed while he laid on the other side. I would've moved off, but the bed was on the side and he was blocking my way. And I really don't want to climb over him to escape. He might even like that, the creep…I wonder if it'll hurt him if I kick him in the crotch…

"If you inch any further you'll fall off the bed" He sighed.

"Good! At least then I'll be away from you!"

"I really wish you'd stop being so stubborn."

"I really wish you'd stop being a creep." He sighed and shook his head, but I don't really care. "The moment I get out of here, I'm coming after you, and I'm going to rip your limbs off so you can never touch a woman again. That's what rapists and molesters like you deserve. This way they have to live, knowing what their perverted minds got them. And I _will_ escape. Even if it's not by my own, Kirito will come for me. And he'll help me destroy you."

But Sugou scoffed, "That 'hero' boyfriend of yours?" How did he find out we're dating?! I didn't even tell my parents! "Please. I already knew. His real name is Kirigaya. I met him the other day, in the real world. I couldn't believe that weak little boy was the one who beat SAO. It took me a second to collect myself. By the way, where do you think I met him? In your hospital room! The moment we were left with your sleeping body alone, he kept this glare on his face. It was hilarious. And I bet you anything that brat won't have the guts to put on a NerveGear ever again!"

"Well you don't know him the way I do" I huff, turning away from him to face the mirror placed on the wall. Hey, has this always been here? I have the perfect view of the gate and keypad! Awesome! I wonder if it'll work…

"You have faith in your little hero? How cute." His condescending tone made me want to rip his vocal chords out. I seem to wanna remove a lot of body parts from him. "Anyway, I must get going now, Titania. I hope you don't miss me too much."

"I won't miss you at all. I'll revel in your disappearance" I snark with a small smirk at the annoyance on his face. I keep my eyes on the keypad reflection. It seems like I have the perfect view of it, while he doesn't. Perfect!

8...11...3...2...3...2...9

Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Now I just have to wait for the perfect moment to escape. And in the meantime.

I sit in a meditation pose on the bed, closing my eyes with my hands flat up. And soon, I'm taken to what I call my mind palace. It was a white empty space where I could do anything and create anything. It helps my concentration and I usually come out with one or more limbs on fire. Oddly enough, my uncle is usually here, training my fire magic. I think it's my subconscious at work since he was my mentor in SAO, as Heathcliff of course.

"Right on time" My uncle's familiar voice said. I open my eyes and look up at him. He had his comforting smile like always. "Come on. You don't have much time to train before the perfect opportunity to escape arrives." I nod and stand up. "Sugou somehow blocked the skill I made for you, but that doesn't mean you can't access some of it. You sword won't ever be activated unless the skill is unblocked, but you can still use your flames. You already were able to light up your arms, so let's work on your feet and legs now. If you train hard enough, you'll be able to set your whole body aflame, and possibly be able to manipulate the fire to your will, instead of just using it as a shield. Now, focus. Think fire. You control it. Think positive thoughts as well." I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to follow his instructions. Kazuto, Asuna, Kazuto, Andrew, Kazuto, Mom, Kazuto, Dad, Kazuto, Suichi, Sugou….Sugou….KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKIL- "Calm down! Rei!" I snap my eyes open to see the entire room on fire. How? My uncle sighed and shook his head, "When you start thinking negative, you let the fire control you. Don't do it again. The fire does what you tell it, not the other way around. Keep your thoughts focused on the positive. Just keep thinking of Kirito when you use your fire." Uncle looked up curiously, "It's time for you to go. But don't use your fire until you can have it under absolute control. Otherwise, there may be consequences." I nod and sit back in my meditation pose, "Good luck."

I open my eyes and I'm back in birdcage. I hop over to the gate and quietly punch in the keypad. Who knows what lackies he has around.

 _~Third POV!~_

Kazuto, or Kirito as he goes by in ALO, didn't know what was happening. Once he entered the game, he found out he kept all his skills from SAO. All of his items were locked, which made him panic until he found Yui's Heart, which he was thankful to have. Kirito took her out and she was happily reunited with him as a Navigation Pixie. The two of them set out to find her mom, who she was sad to find out was missing. They also had met a girl called Leafa, who was taking him and Yui to the World Tree to find Rei.

Anyway, during their journey, Leafa got a message from her friend saying that the Salamanders, the fire fairies, were playing an ambush on the Cat Sith and Sylphs during their alliance meeting. The two of them raced to the meeting place and arrived just in time to stop it, with Kirito fighting and beating their general, Eugene. Kirito couldn't help but think that Rei would definitely become a Salamander if she had the choice, and he didn't doubt that she would rise in their ranks due to her knack with fire.

So, after bluffing to Eugene about being an ambassador for the Spriggan-Undine alliance, the Salamanders left them alone. The leader of the Sylphs banished the traitor Sylph, and was now currently hugging his arm flirtingly, along with the Cat Sith leader, much to his shock. He had no idea what to do about them, and right when he was about to explain he was in-game married to his real life girlfriend, Leafa pulled on the back of his coat, trying to get them to back off. To their confusion, she seemed to be trying to call him something, but couldn't get it out and just told them to forget it.

"What the hell?!" The group all turned to see a blue haired fairy glaring at Kirito. Much to his surprise, it was Asuna! The only difference he could see was her hair color, so it wasn't hard to figure out.

"A-Asuna?!"

She stomped over and threw the three woman off Kirito, before turning her glare to him once again, her hands on her hips, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Flirting with three woman? What would Mars think?!"

"N-No! It's not like that!"

"Then why did you stutter, huh?! It's just like Liz! You lousy cheater!" Asuna shouted, pulling on Kirito's cheek.

"H-Hey! Cut it out! That's hurts~!"

"Should've thought of that before you cheated on Mars!" 

"I would never cheat on her!" 

"Why should I believe you?!"

"Asuna!"

The blue fairy huffed and pushed him onto the ground, before stomping on his face, muffling his shouts of pain.

"Uh...Who are you?" Asuna looked up at the blond Sylph and gave a kind smile.

"I'm Asuna! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She greeted, smushing her foot on Kirito's face as she walked over to shake her hand. Kirito moaned in pain and Asuna shot a death glare back at him, with an equally deathly tone in her voice, "Shut up you wuss."

"Is he your...boyfriend?" Leafa asked softly.

"Wha?! No way! He is _so_ not my type! But he is my best friend's boyfriend. Shame on you for leading these poor women on!" She shouted at Kirito, who was weakly getting up.

"You chose an Undine, so why is a healing fairy so violent?" He whimpered to himself.

"What was that?" Asuna hissed, making Kirito jolt straight.

"Nothing!" Yui popped her head out and smiled happily at the blue fairy.

"Auntie Auna!" She cried happily, flying over and hugging her cheek, "I missed you!" 

"Aw! I missed you too Yui! You're so tiny!" Asuna giggled, tapping the pixie's cheek. Yui whined.

"Auntie! That tickles! You're just like daddy!"

"Daddy?" Sakuya and Alicia mutter, looking at Leafa for answers, but she shrugged. Not even she understood it. But...The Undine fairy said that Kirito had a girlfriend. It just wasn't her. And, for some reason, that made her heart twinge a bit.

"By the way, where is Mars?" Asuna asked, looking around. Kirito went sullen, looking at the ground sadly. Yui flew over to her dad to comfort him. "What? What did I say?"

"Mommy's gone" Yui whimpered.

"W-what do you mean 'gone'?!" Asuna exclaimed in shock.

"She got stuck in game like you. I think she's trapped on top of the World Tree. Some players got a picture. It was blurry, but it looked too much like her to be a coincidence. So we're going to check it out."

"She was going to try and find me, wasn't she?" Asuna asked, already knowing the answer. Kirito just shrugged. He didn't know for sure, but that's what he figured if Asuna got stuck first. "I should've know! It must've been Sugou! He asked me to check out the game and tell him how it was. But when I got ready to leave, my logout button was gone, just like SAO!"

"SAO?" The two then remembered they weren't alone and looked over at the other players.

"Uh…"

"Yeah. We're SAO survivors" Kirito answered, before turning back to Asuna, "You think it was a trap? I don't like Sugou, in fact I hate him, but would he really trap her here?" 

"I've know Sugou since we were kids. He's always given me these weird vibes. Like, like bad ones, the ones Mars got in SAO before boss fights. And he always had this...greedy look in his eyes. I wouldn't put it past him to do that. And if so, who knows why he trapped her. But now that I think about, he's always had an obsession with her uncle."

Kirito bit his lip in thought. Whatever the case, Sugou better hope he didn't harm her at all. If he did, there was nothing in existence that would keep him from killing the man.

 _~Rei's POV!~_

I run down the path as fast as possible. I would've flown, but someone might've caught me. Sugou said he had a team to help him, so they must come to 'help' with their 'project'. Soon enough, I spot an opening at the trunk. I cautiously make my way to it and enter the hole, reaching a white electronic door. I place my hand on the sensor, and the door immediately opens. I quickly leap to the side just in case, but when I spot no one around, I slowly make my way through the white hall.

I keep my hand at the wall as I sneakingly walk around, checking corners. Seriously, I felt like a fairy-fied ninja. As I keep moving, I can't help but wonder how far this stupid place was! Seriously, it's been like half an hour! However, eventually, I come into contact with a map. Confused on why there was one to begin with but grateful either way, I read the map as quickly as possible, scanning for a game console somewhere.

But something caught my eye. A place called the Experiment Hangar. Is that where they're doing that 'project' of theirs? Are they messing with the players minds in there? Either way, I couldn't help but go with the urge to check it out.

Memorizing the map, I quickly run through the hall, following the directions. I enter the room slowly, cautiously looking around. All around it were these pillars with blue lights shining above. I examine one of them, and to my horror, the light was actually a hologram of a brain, with emotions popping up around it, mostly negative ones. These, are these the players Sugou trapped? They...They're torturing them!

How dare he?! How dare he play around with a human's brain as if it was his own little toy! I swear, when I get out, the first thing I'm gonna do is-

My thoughts are then cut off by the door opening, so I quickly hide behind one of the pillars. Two giant purple slub monsters came in. Wow, they look ugly and disgusting! Are these some of the scientists that have been helping Sugou?

"Time to see how they're doing," One said, "He's having another dream about Spica. His B-13 and B-14 fields are way off the scale. Look, his 16 is getting up there too! He's really excited."

"It's only the third experiment. Maybe it's a coincidence."

"No, it's definitely the induced emotion circuit. He's over the threshold now due to the frequency of the images occurring." They acting like messing with these people's minds is no big deal! As much as I wanted to attack them, I decided to wait until after I escape the game, so the pain I inflict will be real. I'm so dark, but they deserve it!

I hide behind the pillars one by one as the slugs don't notice me. But I'm happy to take notice of the floating cube, which reminded me of the console Yui used in SAO. Oh, I can't wait to see my baby again! I still haven't talked to daddy about that yet.

I look back at the slugs, who were busy with the brains back there. Deciding to take my chance, but with caution, I slowly make my way to the console, one pillar at a time. If I ran head on, they might've seen the movement. I quickly reach out at the keycard and slide it, praying to the gods that it'll work and I'll get out of here finally.

To my joy, the monitor appeared in front of me. I quickly scroll the list of choices before reaching one that said 'leave virtual laboratory'. I tap it and an alert pops up, but I ignore it as I reach forward to press the logout button.

Unfortunately, I felt slimy tentacles wrap around my arms and legs. I try to reach out, but to no avail as they pull me back, upside-down.

"Who are you? Wanna tell us what you're doing here?" Thing 2 asked. I huff, deciding to play it cool.

"I demand you let go of me this instant! Sugou is a very good friend of mine," I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth, "And he said I could come check the place out after I showed interest in his plans. When I did, he told me that if I liked what I saw, I could join his research. I was just about to leave to accept his offer when you grabbed me!" 

"Well no one told me you were going to be here" Thing 2 replied.

"I suppose you were too busy verifying the brain waves to take notice, but I entered not long after you. I just met up with him a few moments ago, so it makes sense you wouldn't, having been logged in already."

"I don't know" Thing 2 said uncertainly. Please believe me, please believe me, please believe me, "Wait a second! This is the girl Sugou keeps on top of the World Tree! The one in the cage!" And the gods once again prove that they hate me….

"Oh yeah, I heard about her" Thing 1 remarked as I tried to reach my foot to the logout button. "I don't think it's fair that the boss gets have all the fun with this cute girl." Thing 1 sees my foot and reaches another tentacle to grab it. It felt so weird! EWW!

"LET ME GO!" I shout, trying to wiggle out of it's grip. "I SWEAR YOU MONSTER! YOU LET ME GO OR I'LL-"

"Don't be so mean. After all, you were the one who interrupted our deep-sense mapping experiment."

"You're supposed to be scientists! This is wrong! It's illegal and unethical to mess with people's minds!"

"Well it's more ethical than sticking electrical probes into the brain of some poor animal, wouldn't you say? Our experiments are just, dreaming, that's all" Thing 2 told me.

"You could find a better way than sticking probes into an animal! You're just lazy bast-"

"Oh don't be like that. The dreams we show them are wonderful. Ones people wish they'd never wake up from. I wish I could have that."

I pause and stare at the two, before struggling even more, "You're just as insane as that creep Sugou!"

"The boss is out on business right? Log out and go see what he wants us to do with her" Thing 1 said, making Thing 2 sigh and slouch.

"Oh fine, whatever. Listen though. Until I get back, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Oh yeah sure. Hurry up and get going." Thing 2 presses the logout button and I wiggle some more.

"Put me down right now!" I demand.

"I can't. The boss would kill me if I let you go" Thing 1 dismisses.

"Oh yeah? Well I'll do worse! Because I _will_ get out of here, and when I do, I will hunt down you and all your little scientist buddies, and I'm going to give you something worse than death! Death is way too easy and simple! I want you to suffer! SUFFER! I'm going to hunt you all down, skin you alive, and pour salt all over your bodies! And that's not all! Once that's done and you all are writhing in pain and agony, I'm going to rip your eyes from their sockets, and shoved them down your throats so you can watch me tear apart your carcasses!" I then chomp down on one tentacle that was near my face and refuse to let go of it until he begged and his friend came back. I release the tentacle and he pulls it back with a whimper, muttering how he should've turned down his pain monitor.

"What's wrong?" Thing 2 asked.

"Nothing. What did the boss say?"

"Oh, he was so livid-" "GOOD!" "He said we had to put her back in the cage upstairs, change the passcode, and keep an eye on her 24/7." I peek back at the console sadly. Wait a sec! Can I get that card without them noticing? I decide to take my chances, seeing how they can't really doing anything to me without Sugou getting mad, and reach my foot out. I, thankfully, grab it just in time and hide it in my bow, before the two Things took notice. I then move some more, letting them think it was just me trying to escape.

"Stop struggling. It won't do you any good." They took me back to the birdcage and changed the code, but I don't care. "Don't go anywhere. I hope we have another chance to hang out."

"Go die in a ditch." The two leave and I take the card out with a smirk. One way or another, I'm outta this joint.


	19. Chapter 19

**Me: Just got back from the *shivers* dentist. My right side is now numb and it's annoying. Anyway, Review and Enjoy please!**

I was practicing my fire powers, seeing how I was alone once more. It's gotten to the point where I can light my body on fire, but I always end up losing control and sent my mind palace aflame. Uncle has scolded me many times for it.

I soon exit my meditation, only for a warning sign to pop up in the corner of my sight. And then I start hearing Yui calling for me! I stand up so quickly that my chair was knocked back, but I ignore it as I try to find where the call was coming from. 

"Mommy!"

"I'm here Yui!" I call out, despite knowing she probably can't hear me. I grab the bars of my cage and call down to them, "Mommy's up here! Yui! Kirito!" I groan and pace around for a moment. They gotta know I'm up here! They have to know I'm ok! But what….Keycard! Ha! Knew it'd come in handy! And they can use it much better than I could being stuck in here. I take the card out of my bow, which is where I hid it from Sugou and his creepy slugs, and lean out of my cage as far as possible, before dropping the card, and praying that they get it. I hope I didn't just jinx it, as, so far, my prays haven't been working!

And now...I wait….I hate waiting…At least I can try to train my flames in the time being. I don't really have much else to choose from….

 _~Skippy!~_

After some more training, and failing to control my fire, I guess I went stir-crazy as next thing I know, I'm banging on the bars and making the cage swing back in forth as I shout profanities to any of the lackies nearby. "AND YOU BETTER KEEP AN EYE OPEN AT NIGHT, BECAUSE I'LL GET YOU WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT, YOU LOUSY, NO-GOOD SONS OF-"

"Now Rei, don't go and ruin Yui's innocent ears." I snap my eyes open and spin around towards the gate, to see Kirito and our daughter standing outside it. Being in complete disbelief, I pinch my arm to make sure this wasn't a hallucination. Only for pain to spread on my arm! Stupid nails! "Geez, don't hurt yourself."

"Mommy!" Yui cried happily, making the gate disappear before rushing towards me. I engulf her in a tight hug, having missed my little girl in the months SAO was cleared. I kiss her head softly, before looking over at my boyfriend/in-game husband with a wide smile.

"Hey Kirito." He walked over and wrapped his arms around me and Yui, and I kiss him happily. Oh, how I've missed this!

"Sorry I took so long."

"Don't apologize. I knew you'd save me if I failed myself. Which I have. Many times….The gods hate me…"

"We've established that" My boyfriend grinned, before turning to our daughter, "Yui, can you log Rei out of the game from here?"

But Yui shook her head, "Her status is locked by complicated codes that I don't have access to. We'll have to find a system console to bypass them."

Then I remembered the hangar I was caught by the slugs in, "I found one in the lab! It's where I snagged the keycard before getting caught. I'll show you guys the way!" However, before we can even move, the ground started shaking as I felt something on top of me. I struggled to stay up, along with the other two, but it was as if gravity just got heavier and the weight of the world was pushing down on us.

"Yui," Kirito struggled to say, the push getting too much, "What's going on?" The world around us turned black as Yui started sparking.

"Daddy! Mommy! Be careful! Something bad is coming!" She managed to get out, before disappearing in purple codes.

"Yui!" I cried. Kirito tried to reach out for me, but the gravity prevented us as I collapsed to the ground, still struggling to keep myself up.

"What a surprise" A familiar, unwanted voice said. I grit my teeth and growl, "The last thing I expected to find was a cockroach in my little bird's cage."

"You've gotta be kidding" my boyfriend growled, not having any more luck than I was with the gravity, while Sugou seemed perfectly fine, the damn- "Sugou?"

The creep shook his head with that dumb smirk on his face, "I'd prefer that you didn't call me that name in this world. You should address me as His Highness, the Fairy King Oberon!" And Sugou then slammed his foot onto my boyfriend, making him fall down in pain.

"Leave him alone!" I demand, albeit weakly.

"How do you like it? Wanna know why you can't move? It's a little something called gravity magic, coming out in the next update. You think the players will go for it?"

"You damned coward!" I shout, "Only a weakling such as yourself would hide behind magic only you possess!"

"Tell me something Kirigaya, or should I call you Kirito instead. How did you manage to get all the way up here? I saw a strange program running, is that how?" 

"I flew up here with my wings" My boyfriend lied as Sugou took his sword and swung it around casually.

"Suit yourself. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I'll just go ask your mind instead."

"Don't you dare!" I shout at him, trying to crawl forward. Unfortunately, the stupid gravity magic wouldn't let me…

"What are you talking about?"

"Please. You don't think I went to all that trouble, setting this whole thing up, just for fun, did you? I have 300 former players of SAO under my thumb. And now, thanks to their dedicated cooperation, the technology I developed for total control of emotions and thought is 80 percent complete. I'm about to achieve what no one else has! The total control of the human soul! The power of a god! It's so close I can almost taste it! Seriously, thank goodness for virtual reality!"

"I'm amazed! You achieved the impossible" I remark, with a glare, "You've gone even more insane than before! Bravo!" 

"You'll never get away with this!" Kirito stated.

"Who do you think is going to stop me? A god? Well, sadly, there's none in this world. Except for yours truly!" Sugou exclaimed crazily, his eyes practically filled with insanity, "I know! Before I start tinkering with your little souls, why don't we have ourselves a little fun!" He snapped his fingers and two chains appeared in front of me. I think I have an idea of what he was talking about...LIKE I'M JUST GONNA LET HIM RAPE ME! WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS?!

"Leave her alone!" Kirito demanded as the creep started to shackle my wrists. I try to struggle against him and move, but to no avail. Sugou gave my boyfriend a sly look and raised his hand, making the chains pull me up. I try to pull away from them as Sugou made his way towards me. I just spit in his face. He simply wiped it away and started fingering and smelling my hair.

"It was hard to get your virtual body to smell the same as in real life, but eventually I was able to sneak the analyzer into your hospital room, without your stupid mother in the way." 

"Don't talk about my mom like that!" I growl, struggling against the chains.

"Get away from her!" My boyfriend demanded, slowly trying to pull himself up. He was successful in getting to his knees as he continued to give Sugou a deathly glare.

"Give me a break" The creep sighed, picking up Kirito's sword and making his way over. "Why don't you just stay down and grovel like a good little doggie!" Sugou kicked Kirito over, before slamming his own sword into his back.

"Kirito!" I cry as Sugou wriggled the sword around. "You bast-" 

"System command! Change the pain absorber from level 10 to level 8!" Sugou laughed as my boyfriend shouted in pain, "Hurts, doesn't it? I'll increase the pain gradually so you have something to look forward to. By the way, once it drops below level 3 it'll start affecting your body in the real world." The creep then made his way to me and started fingering my stomach. I move my leg forward to kick him, but it ended up just being a light tap due to the gravity push.

"You bastard!" Kirito shouted, "I'm going to kill you!" The creepy pervert ehn started licking my cheek as I continue trying to pull away. Sugou turned his head and gave my boyfriend a superior grin, while I take notice of him falling unconscious. 

'Now.'

What was that? It sounded like my uncle...But I'm not in my mind palace….

'Use your fire now!'

But I can't keep it under control! Can I?

 _Keep your thoughts focused on Kirito…_

Well….alright then. Better than letting this bastard molest and rape me.

I close my eyes and start to think of all the times me and Kirito had fun, including our date from the real world.

And I took great pleasure in the shout of pain that came from Sugou as flames overtook my body.

 _~Third POV!~_

Kirito was in complete despair. All he wanted was to save his girlfriend from the bastard that took her from him, but ended up dying, with his own sword in his back. And the last thing he saw, was the creep molesting _his_ Rei. Kirito couldn't help but feel that this was punishment for thinking he could be the hero again.

'Are you giving up?' A voice called out in the white emptiness Kirito was lying in. And the teen couldn't help but think of how familiar the voice was to Akihiko Kayaba, his girlfriend's deceased uncle. He didn't replied to the question, so the voice repeated it.

'No. I'm facing reality' Kirito finally answered.

'Then you _are_ giving up. To the power of the system you once defied.'

'What choice do I have? I'm just a player and he's the GM.'

Footstep echo beside him, and Kirito weakly turns his head to see Akihiko Kayaba standing beside him, looking rather disappointed, 'Then our battle was, what? Just a joke? Do you remember how you showed me the power of the human will, was superior to the system? How you showed me the possibilities of the future?'

'You're…'

'Get up, Kirito' Kayaba demanded, 'Get up and save my niece. She can't control her fire much longer.'

And, when he blinked, Kirito was back in the dark room, and the first thing he noticed was Rei's entire body engulfed by flames and Sugou looking very annoyed at her smug face. Out of pure will, just like the final battle with Kayaba, Kirito started to struggle to his knees, eventually making it there, even with the sword still in his back. "You're attacks are weak...The blades in SAO hit way harder...And they hurt way more!" Kirito makes it to his feet and was able to keep his body up, defying the system once again as the sword slides out of his back.

"Unbelievable" Sugou muttered, turning to deal with the younger teen. "Seems I have a few bugs left to deal with." The blonde goes to backhand him, but Kirito quickly grabbed his hand before any contact could be made.

"System login. ID Heathcliff." Immediately, screens floated around him, much to Sugou's shock, and Rei's glee. She didn't miss the ID name, and, while confused on how Kirito was able to access it, was happy nonetheless as her fire died down since she realized she was about to lose control. "System command. Enable administrator privileges. Set ID Oberon to level 1."

"An ID that outranks mine? That's impossible! This is _my_ world! I'm the creator! I'm it's ruler! It's king! It's god!"

"No. I don't think so" Kirito spat out, "You stole everything in this world. Everything! Including its people! You're nothing but a king of thieves, sitting upon a stolen throne!"

"Good metaphor" Rei called out, making Kirito roll his eyes.

"You little punk! You dare, you dare talk to me like that?!" Sugou put his hand up, "System command! Generate object ID Excalibur!" But nothing happened, making Rei laugh at him. "Do as I say you piece of crap! System! Your god is ordering you to comply!"

Kirito glanced over Sugou shoulder to Rei with a small smile, "Think you can wait a little longer? This will only take a bit."

"Sure, but hurry up. These chains are annoying the Hell outta me."

"System command!" Kirito called out, "Generate object ID Excalibur!" Immediately, as beam of light appears before him, as a sword takes form, "A simple command summons a legendary weapon. Who knew?" He shoved the sword into Sugou unprepared hands, before kicking his original sword up, catching it easily before pointing it at Sugou, "It's time to settle the score. The king of thieves, vs the gilded hero! System command. Set pain absorber to level 0." Rei cheered happily as Sugou's absorber was decreased, "Did you just flinch? Because the other guy never flinched, no matter how bad things got. You know him. Akihiko Kayaba!"

"Kay-Kayaba?!" Sugou exclaimed as Rei blinked in shock. Her uncle? "Oh, I get it! That was his ID. Why? You're supposed to be dead! Why are you still getting in my way?! You are always doing this! Acting all high and mighty, like some big shot! Taking everything that was rightfully mine!" 

"Sugou" Kirito started calmly, "In a way, I get where you're coming from. I lost to him too, and then I had to go work for him. But, whatever happened, I never wanted to be him! Unlike you." That was obviously the breaking point for Sugou, who starting trying to attack Kirito, who easily deflected each blow. Kirito then cut the blonde fairy's cheek, making him feel complete agony. "Hurts, doesn't it? But it's nothing like the pain you made the trapped players feel. Not even close!" Kirito slammed his sword down, cleanly slicing Sugou's hand off, before doing the same across his torso. The younger teen then picked up the remaining body part, Sugou's head and chest, and throwing it in the air, not even feeling an ounce of remorse as his stabbed his sword right through, head first. Sugou's body shattered, before Kirito slicing the chains that were holding Rei up. Having been unprepared, she fell once released, but Kirito caught her in time.

"Such as shame," Rei sighed, "I wanted to inflict pain on him before I let you kill him." Kirito chuckled a bit, resting his head in the crook of her neck.

"Well there's always his real body."

"True. But if I hurt him there, I might be fined or thrown in juvie."

"We can claim it as self-defense. He did try to rape you after all."

"True."

Kirito kissed her neck lightly, before pulling away and smiling, "Let's go home already. It's been too long, and I'm guessing it's already nighttime."

"It's only been four days."

"Way too long in my point of view."

"What about Asuna and the SAO players Sugou kidnapped?" Rei asked worriedly. They couldn't leave them here.

"We'll make sure they're taken care of when we get back and explain everything to the police" Kirito assured her, before standing and helping her up. "I guess, it's over now, huh?"

"I suppose. Right, Uncle Aki?" Rei called out, having figured her uncle must've had a plan for when he did die. At first, she thought she's just been talking to a subconscious figure, but when Kirito suddenly had access to his account, Rei knew it had to be her uncle after all.

"It's been awhile" Her uncle greeted, appearing nearby them.

"So you're alive? I thought I killed you" Kirito muttered.

"In a way, I am alive. Ultimately, I'm the afterimage of the mind that was Akihiko Kayaba. An echo."

"And...As usual you make no sense" Kirito replied simply, but Rei slapped his chest before happily hugging the image of her uncle.

"Echo or not, I'm happy you help." 

"Well, I wasn't going to stand by and let Nobuyuki harass you. Your father would kill me."

"You're already dead."

"He'd find a way."

"True."

"You dad scares the crap outta me" Kirito remarked, making Rei laugh.

"Anyway," Akihiko started, "I _would_ like a small favor in return."

"Of course" Kirito muttered, having figured he's want something. Then a golden egg appeared and floated in front of them. "What's this?"

"I call it 'The Seed'. Once it sprouts, you'll know what it is. What you do with it, is up to you. You can even delete it if you want. However, if you still have a tiny bit of fondness left for the virtual world, you'll take care of it" Akihiko explained, "Well, I should get going now. I hope to see you again, Rei. I would like to meet up with my favorite niece more."

"I'm your only niece."

"Exactly." And with that, he disappeared as the two of them glowed and were transported to the birdcage once more.

"Yui?" Kirito called out the moment they were back, "Are you here?!"

"Daddy! Mommy!" She cried, appearing in a simple blue flash and hugging the two of them.

"Thank goodness you're safe" Rei said happily.

Yui nodded proudly, "I hide myself in the local memory of daddy's NerveGear! I'm so glad you're ok mommy! I missed you!"

"I missed you too sweetie!"

"We should get going" Kirito said, despite not wanting to leave their daughter just yet, "Mommy still needs to wake up for the first time in four days. And then we have to rescue the other players stuck here. But we'll visit you soon. Except, I don't know how much longer this world is going to last."

"That's ok, because my core program is saved in Daddy's NerveGear! So we'll always be together!"

Rei smiled and nodded as Kirito opened the system window using her uncle's account again, before she was finally logout of the game she had been trapped inside.


	20. Chapter 20

**Me: WOO! We're one chapter away now! Wait...That's not a good thing! I don't wanna stop! *Cries a bit* Oh well. I still have to write the epilogue so that's a plus! Please, Review and Enjoy!**

 _~Rei's POV!~_

I blink my eyes open and slowly sit up. Looking around, I take notice that I'm in a hospital room. About time I got out of that stupid game! I turn my gaze out the window and realize, yes, it was nighttime as Kirito/Kazuto said before. Speaking of which, where is he? Well, I don't suppose he'd be right at my side considering he just saved me. Depending on what hospital I'm in, probably my mother's, I'd say it'll be about fifteen minutes before he shows up...What do I do till then?

 _~Skippy!~_

"So bored~" I sing to myself, having been alone for about half an hour. Kazuto still isn't here for some reason, and my parents aren't here either. Mom's boss sent her home due to the stress she's experienced with my...relapse? Is that the right word? Oh well. Anyway, a few moments after I woke up, a nurse came to check on me only to be shocked at my recovery. Probably because Asuna hasn't woken up yet, so they didn't expect me to either. They contacted my mom who responded by yelling at my dad to 'get his ass up and drive them to the hospital'. We live awhile away, but they should be here soon. But, back to my singing! "So~ bored~! So-bored! So~oh~so~ _bored_!"

"I think we get it." I jolt a bit and turn to see my amazing boyfriend smiling happily. I return his grin before he wraps me in a tight hug. I go to kiss his cheek, but notice a recent-looking cut on it.

"Wha-"

"Just fought the final boss" He offered. Figures he'd use game terms. "Don't worry. I left some for you to deal with."

I grin evilly, "Good because I have some revenge I need to dish out." But my evil grin turns into a soft smile, "Guess _now_ it's over."

"Yep" Kazuto said simply, before giving me a deep kiss. It would've been amazing. If an attention grabbing cough did echo through the room. We split apart quickly, both blushing at the sight of my parents, mom was grinning knowingly (no surprise as she's practically psychic) while my dad...looked like he was torn between wanting to kill Kazuto or have a conniption…

"Uh..." I sweatdrop and glance between my nervous boyfriend (who was slowly inching away from my father) and my parents. "I guess I have a lot to explain, don't I?"

 _ **May 16, 2025**_

I wait on the courtyard bench for my beloved boyfriend, who promised to meet me for lunch as always. It's been a little over three months since ALO was deleted. After that horrible experiment Sugou had done with the poor players was admitted to the public, needless to say, it was shut down, along with RECT/Argus since we couldn't handle all the bad publicity. But, I really don't care. I mean, I'm only 16 after all. I don't need to be running a company. Besides, with me and Kazuto's gaming experience and knowledge, we can easily create our own company together, when we're older of course.

The players Sugou was experimenting on, along with Asuna, were logged out as quickly as possible. The players, fortunately, didn't even remember the trauma their brain experienced, so they're all good. And, speaking of Sugou, he was arrested in the parking lot of the hospital, the same night I was logged out of ALO. Turns out he tried to kill my boyfriend. I got out of my room, despite all the insistence to not to, stalked over to him as the police were taking the creep into the car, and kicked him extremely hard in the place that made all the men around cringe and back away from me. I was so proud of myself too!

Me and Kazuto both had decided to enter the SAO survivor school. Everyone was classed on how much they remembered from school before the two-year game we all had. Sadly, me and my boyfriend didn't have any classes together, but we always met up for lunch and would walk home together, not counting our dates outside of school. It took awhile for my dad to not be too overprotective of me dating Kazuto, and even then my mom (who knew about our relationship from the start, despite my attempts to keep it secret) needed to intervene a lot, but now he's kinda ok with it. I mean, he still doesn't like 'his baby girl going out with the horrid species known as man', but he's backed off a bit, seeing as Kazuto has saved me from being trapped in a game twice. Apparently, now he's forcing my boyfriend to take martial arts so he can 'protect' me, even though I am now a red belt….

I'm brought out of my thoughts by said boyfriend collapsing beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as he sighed, "I'm tired! Tired and hungry…"

"Well don't you sound old" I tease, turning to get my bag beside me.

"Yeah, well I feel like I've aged the past few months. Like, maybe five years" Kazuto sighed again. I shake my head slightly, before taking out my bento and the food I made Kazuto. He was happy to find out that I'm a good cook in real life as well.

"Lucky you, I brought lunch" I tell him, revealing the sandwiches I made him. They were the same spicy ones he loved back in SAO. He grinned happily, taking the package and kissing my cheek.

"You're the best!"

"I know" I reply smugly, before we both quietly eat out lunch. "By the way, don't forget that we're meeting the others later."

"I haven't" Kazuto denied, and I raise an eyebrow, "...Ok, I might have…."

I sigh in exasperation, "Honestly." Getting the feeling as though I'm being watched, I glance over at the cafeteria, which I just realised was right above us. And, sure enough, Lizbeth, or Rika in real life, was trying to discreetly watch us. Oh, I knew all about her and Keiko's (Silica) little deal. And if they think I'm just going to stand by and let them try to flirt with _my_ boyfriend after their one month period is up, they got another thing coming. "Hey, Kazuto?"

He was busy stuffing his mouth before paused and looked at me curiously with a muffled 'yeah?'

"Did you know everyone in the cafeteria can see us?"

He gulped and seemed a bit nervous, "Uh...no…" 

I shrug, "Oh well. Anyway, do you mind helping me out a bit?"

"With what?" He asked slowly, inching away as though I was going to ask him to do something horrible. He's so weird sometimes.

"Nothing really. Just, proving something to some people who can't take a hint."

"Wha-" I cut him off by pulling him closer and giving him a passionate kiss. Inwardly I smirk, and give Rika a smug eye, before focusing solely on my boyfriend.

 _~Third POV!~_

"Honestly Rika, calm down" Asuna said sternly. She, Rika, and Keiko were having lunch together, but Rika _had_ to go and spy on Rei and Kazuto. It was bad enough that both girls were giving themselves false hope, but now they won't even let the two have their privacy?!

"Leave me alone! She's all over him and it's driving me nuts! Wha'the-! That wench! She just gave me a smug look while making out with Kazuto! Why I oughta-"

"Rika!" Asuna cut her off sternly, with a glare, "Cut it out! She kinda has a right to do that considering what you two have been doing!"

"We haven't been doing anything!"

"Yet! I think you should call off this whole thing and just leave them alone" Asuna sighed, "Honestly. Neither of you are going to be able to make Kazuto turn his love from Rei, so you might as well give up!"

"You don't know that!" Keiko cried pathetically.

"Yes, I do actually. The two of them have known one another for over two years, and have been a couple for a year and a half of that! If they haven't broken up by now, I doubt it's ever going to happen! Not with what those two have been through! You _do_ remember the part where they died for one another, right? They _literally_ died! That's like, like 'Romeo and Juliet' love right there! Get over him and find yourselves other guys!"

Both Rika and Keiko whined and sulked, realizing how right Asuna was.

 _~Rei's POV!~_

Me, Kazuto, and Suguha all make our way to the Dicey Cafe for the party Andrew was throwing. It was an SAO party with players we know being invited. Which was a lot. It was in honor of Kazuto clearing the game, but he doesn't know that since it was a surprise. And I went along to get on his nerves, knowing he hated surprises! I'm such a wonderful girlfriend, right?

"Were we supposed to get here earlier?" Kazuto muttered as I waved happily at everyone. Rika ran up with a smug grin.

"We gave you a later time to make sure everyone else got here first! It wouldn't be right for the guest of honor to show up before all the guests! And, yes, Rei knew." Kazuto gave me a teasingly stink eye.

"Traitor." I replied with an innocent smile and an angel halo. I laugh and push him inside, following Rika to the front as she grabbed a mic. She pulled my boyfriend onto the higher platform while he looked annoyed.

"Alright! Let's get this party started! You all know what to do! Ready," Andrew, after a happy hug from myself, handed me a party popper, "Go!"

"Congratulations on clearing SAO, Kirito!" The room echoed as me and the others popped the confetti and Asuna unraveled the banner we made. My poor boyfriend looked so dumb-struck as he was covered in confetti and streamers. I snicker and hand him a drink as Rika lifted her glass happily.

"Cheers!"

 _~Skippy!~_

Kazuto sighed and sat at the bar with me trailing behind him. I was trying to cheer him up as he was upset on being surprised and having all the attention on himself. After years of being an unwanted beater, he wasn't used to it. "Bartender, bourbon on the rocks."

"You're too young to drink, idiot" I scold as Andrew rolled his eyes and gave him a glass of oolong tea. Kazuto was annoyed at that too as Tsuboi sat on Kazuto's other side.

"Agil, slide me a real one."

"Klein. Seriously? Aren't you supposed to go back to work?"

"Alcohol makes the overtime go by faster" He sighed.

"That's your excuse? I hate alcohol" I mutter.

"Says the girl who just said I'm too young to drink!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't ask for it specifically! I didn't know it was wine! It was a Christmas party and my parents left me alone! I was thirsty and it was there! My parents were mad, but they didn't punish me since it was an accident and the damn hangover was punishment enough!" My boyfriend and Tsuboi just laughed at my misfortune. I pout, before grinning at the man who just came over. "Thinker! How have you been? I heard you married Yulier! Congrats!"

"Thanks" He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "But ever since we got back it's been taking everything we got to adjust to life here. The good thing is I'm settling into work mode again."

"Well if you guys need anything, my family is happy to help! We already donated a lot to the SAO charity!" It was created to help SAO survivors get back on track, and my family was a huge funder of it. So was Asuna's family.

"By the way, I've read the new MMO today! Congrats man!" Tsuboi stated.

"Yeah, I wish it were better" Thinker sighed, "It could've used a bit more content. Then again, with the way MMO's are now, who needs walkthroughs and news? Those things are going to be irrelevant anyway."

Kazuto then cut in, "By the way Agil, has the Seed been doing ok?"

"It's doing amazing. We've got fifty mirrors already set up, and it's been downloaded 100,000 times. And check this out, it's got 300 major servers actually running it."

After the whole Sugou thing was taken care of, Kazuto took the Seed Uncle Aki gave us to Andrew and had him analyze it. It was a Full-Dive MMO my genius uncle developed. The program was called The World Seed and it's extremely popular. After the SAO and ALO scandals, MMO's had so much bad publicity, it almost became non-existent. Until we sent out The World Seed, a stripped down version of Cardinal that could run on small servers. My uncle had modified the program so that anyone with access and a good server could easily download it and use it to create their very own online world.

Originally, Kazuto was reluctant, considering how much damage my uncle has done already, but I convinced him otherwise. My uncle, after all, was a genius and must've figured that once SAO would be cleared, MMO's would've needed a boost up. Plus, Andrew offered his own input that it was completely safe. Kazuto had him upload it to servers so everyone could use it for free.

And, it was exactly what virtual MMO's needed to revive the almost dead genre. The data from ALO was transferred to a new company, who decided to keep it online and running. But it wasn't the only world created. Everyone, from individual gamers to a few hundred small companies, were suddenly creating brand new worlds on their very own virtual game serves. And they're all connected, so we're almost to the point where you can create a character in one world and transfer it to another, with all your skills. I even made my own world. Well, I made two, but one was a private world I locked for just me, Kazuto, and our friends to all hangout. It's passcode only, as I found you can do with your worlds. The other one was a popular MMO for girls based on a female dating sim! Don't judge. It's awesome! Though Kazuto forbid me from playing in my own world. Apparently, it doesn't matter if they're real or not, he doesn't want me flirting with any guys….I can relate.

"Hey, are we still on for the after party?" Kazuto questioned, making me snap out of my thoughts once again that day.

"Yep. We're meeting up in Yggdrasil City at 11" Andrew answered.

Ooh! I can't wait! Everyone was going to enter a Full-Dive together! It's gonna be epic!

 _~Skippy!~_

I happily fly around Yggdrasil with my race. I was, of course, a Salamander, no surprise there (but Klein also joined the race, so I wasn't alone!). So, Kirito, told me about Eugene and his brother Mortimer, and, naturally, I was interested. I still had my fire power, and I was happy to see my unique skill was unlocked so I was able to regain Blazefury. After some training with Kirito, and getting the hang of ALO, I challenged both men to a duel of strength.

Naturally, I won against both, seeing how I'm the only one with the ability to set my whole body one fire and activate Blazefury, along with flaming Dark Repulsor (which I realized was with me once again since our SAO avatars were saved in the World Seed). As always, leadership of the Salamanders was placed onto me, but I let Mortimer and Eugene make the decisions seeing how I still have horrible leadership skills. They just have to run things by me first. And, it seems my SAO nickname followed me. Only it's been changed a bit. Instead of the Flame Queen, I am now referred to as Queen of the Fire Fairies/Salamanders. It gets annoying sometimes, especially when Kirito mocks me for it, as he knows how bad I am at being a leader….

I kept the avatar Sugou forced me into, but I changed it to fit my own style. What? I may hate the creator, but I loved the outfit. Though Kirito gets annoyed at the guys who stare at me. He once sliced a player in half. Then again, the perv had the audacity to touch my backside. I would've taken care of the guy myself, but my husband, being nearby, flipped his lid and attacked the guy before I could. Yui was cheering him on…I'm a tiny bit ashamed to say I did too….But not much.

Yui pulled on my hair lightly and happily pointed up at the moon, where the floating city of Aincrad was slowly rebuilding. I smile widely at the sight. Looks like my uncle's dream was coming true. His castle was forever going to exist. But, then I pause.

 _~Third POV!~_

Kirito and Leafa were watching Aincrad as well. Until their friends flew past them with taunts of beating the castle first. Asuna turned to them and held her hand out to Leafa, who joined the support group the Undine fairy created (basically, it was Leafa, Lizbeth, and Silica, while Asuna was the therapist. The entire group was to help them get over their feelings for Kirito/Kazuto….) Leafa happily took the hand and the two started flying off to the castle, with Kirito following. But then his daughter appeared on his shoulder and told him that Mars wasn't coming. He stopped and turned to see his wife just staring at the castle in thought.

Curious, and a bit worried, he told the two girls to go on ahead before flying down. "What's wrong?"

Mars shook her head, "Nothing really. It's just...You know how my uncle downloaded his consciousness onto the internet, right?" Kirito nodded slowly, still confused, "Well, when he created Aincrad, he was supposed to be the final boss. So...Do you think, maybe, he's up there, waiting for us to come fight him once more?"

Kirito blinked and turned his gaze to the top of the floating castle curiously. "I don't know. Maybe…." They were quiet for a moment, before Kirito turned back and grinning at his wife, "Only one way to find out!"

Mars smiled back. Until she felt a familiar touch on her backside and her husband quickly flew away with a mischievous grin. She growled angrily and hurriedly followed him while their daughter laughed joyfully on her father's shoulder, "KIRITO! COME BACK HERE YOU PERVERT!"


	21. AN

**...O.o...I...I don't even know why I bothered...Why the heck did I even ask you guys what you wanted with the story... It was a freakin unanimous vote from everyone! Even single vote I got was for season 2 and then the epilogue! I really should've expected it. So, you guys get what you want! I'll be working on the second season as we speak. Until then, please read some of my other fanfics (I have a recent one up called A Lovely Christmas Nightmare for all you 'Nightmare Before Christmas' and 'Corpse Bride' lovers! I, for one, think it's pretty good, but I'm biased so...Yeah! Go read it!) Now, for something more important. There's a petition on Avaaz called 'We Are One People, United'. It's about ISIS, and Paris, and Muslims. I suggest you all go read the article and, hopefully, support it. Because people treating Muslims like dirt and hating them is exactly what ISIS wants. They spread fear and hatred and I, along with many others, hope to fight them with showing love instead. Muslims are just as frightened of ISIS as we are and it's not fair to bunch them up with those horrible terrorists! This is a serious issue that I just wanted to share with you guys. Anyway, until next time!**


	22. IMPORTANT AN

It has been a couple years since I began writing and I have come to terms with the fact that I, was not that good of a writer. But that's ok, because everyone needs time to learn and grow in whatever they take a first shot at doing. I myself have grown as a writer. I have learn different techniques to make stories interesting and attention grabbing. And due to this, I have come to decide that it is time to upgrade my stories. All of my stories will have a bout of rewriting. It may take time, but I swear that I WILL get around to fixing AND finishing all of my stories. I no longer have school and my business is finally getting ready to take off. Since my business is a work at home sort of thing, I will of course have a lot of time with writing all of my stories. Hopefully it will not take TOO long to fix and finish the ones I already have up, but I make no direct promises to the time frame of it, as there are some that have long plots (mostly the ones based on shows). BUt there are some that I have completely given up on as I feel the plots I had written for them were not good in the first place and I have no inspiration to try continuing with them. I have written the list below, but the list will also be on my profile. This note will be taken down depending on the story, but only when I begin reposting the new stories. For example, I'm going to start with my Twilight story, as it is one of the few that I have actually finished and I feel needs the most work (though my Howl's Moving Castle one is a very close second), so once that is completely rewritten, I will start posting the story and deleting all the old chapters, including this note. I have made the list according to the order I will work on them (though this isn't exact as I may in fact change the list according to inspirations that I feel).

 _ **Rewriting:**_

Angelic Twilight

The Wizard and the Half-Demon (I am debating a new title)

A Whole New World Series

Life in Ouran HighSchool Host Club (New plot as well as new title)

Pride and Oddness

The Dwarf's Hobbit

The Dragon Princess

Queen of Flames

Aura: The Last Airbender

The Marvelous Cheetara (This one is AS much of an abomination as my other stories, which is why it's last on the list)

 _ **Debating: This is for the ones that I may get around to rewriting, but there is also a great possibility of it being deleted**_

Usui's Cousin

Ice Age: My Version

Me and My Emperor

A Lovely Christmas Nightmare

 _ **Deleting:**_

Frozen 2

History Has Never Been So Messed Up


End file.
